Seven Nights at Clarabella's
by Fan Of Games
Summary: It is spring break in the Grey Garden, and the girls decided to get part time jobs over the break. While her friends chose ordinary jobs, Macarona found one quite a bit of the radar as the night guard for Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts. Yet she learns it is not a simple part time job, especially with deadly animatronics active at night.
1. Chapter One: A New Night Guard

_"What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it." – Jiddu Krishnamurti_

…

A gentle breeze brushed her hair as Macarona exited the house and sauntered down the path to the road in front of her, stopping briefly to admire the pretty flowers she had planted beside it just the day before with her friends. Her little garden was established quite nicely, a surprise in of itself since Rawberry wanted to eat some of them and sleep on others too. The angel chuckled at the memory of yesterday, her whining to the pink haired demon about how she should get off the tulips and daisies and stop eating the sunflowers. Yosafire wanted to make some flower crowns, but Froze simply told her she could do that in the other garden on the outskirts of the Grey Garden.

It was a favorite place Yosafire and Macarona liked to visit, sometimes with Froze and Rawberry too unless the other angel was working in Blancblack Castle while Rawberry was busy eating or sleeping. Occasionally it was either her and Yosafire together, or sometimes just one of them alone. It was a peaceful spot in the Grey Garden, and Macarona wanted to recreate some of its splendor and beauty by buying seeds at the florist's shop Rawberry's sister, Raspbel, worked at and planting them in the ground. It would've taken weeks for the flowers to grow, sometimes not always successfully since they didn't develop fully all the time, but Ms. Etihw passed by on a stroll and took notice of the group's little project. The Goddess came over to personally bless the flowers Macarona and her friends planted, and within seconds they all grew perfectly to allow the girls an opportunity to marvel over Etihw' magic.

It was a shame Etihw couldn't enjoy it for too long as Mr. Wodahs and Mr. Kcalb showed up to bring her back to the castle since she was just finding a way to escape work and be lazy. Not that there was anything wrong with wanting to relax, though Ms. Etihw really had to get back to work even though she preferred to avoid it entirely. Being one of the two primary people in charge of the Grey Garden meant she had to take her responsibilities seriously and do her work.

After having knelt down by the flowers to smell each of them while basking in that memory as the sun shone down upon her and the rest of the village, Macarona slowly stood up and strolled down the road. She stretched her arms high in the air and crossed them behind her head as she took in the sights of watching fellow angels play with demons and converse with them, thankful for the peace Ms. Etihw and Mr. Kcalb established for the Grey Garden so they wouldn't have to fight each other anymore. Life was not always like this, however; there was the war before the two of them settled down and constructed the Grey Garden, plus Ivlis' invasion the previous year. And yet everybody and the Grey Garden itself fully recovered from those conflicts because here, in the Grey Garden, peace was everlasting. There were no interior conflicts aside from playful spats and everyone got along very well. Exterior conflicts posed a problem, though Ms. Etihw's protective stones were located around the Grey Garden's borders, keeping this place safe from outside harm.

Macarona closed her eyes briefly to take in the scent of the peaceful atmosphere, opening them as younger children ran by and waved hello to her. She returned the wave and continued on her way to her favorite café, one of two eating establishments in the Grey Garden, the other being an ordinary restaurant. Spring break had already begun earlier that morning—technically on Saturday—so Macarona and her friends agreed to meet for lunch that day and discuss what everyone was doing so far. From their conversation last Friday, they were all going to get part time jobs over the break to raise money for a fundraising charity project they wanted to do at school.

Froze was the only exception since her work would be full time temporarily because she already worked at Blancblack Castle, so Yosafire opted to be her assistant. Rawberry would work at the florist's with Raspbel and two other angels her sister was friends with. Dialo and Chelan had found work at the local library near Froze's house. That left Macarona because she didn't find one for herself yet, though a recent ad in today's paper gave her an idea she had to take; not because it was something she wanted to do, it was due to the fact that there weren't any positions anywhere else, leaving her with one part time job she couldn't refuse for that reason.

Coming up to the café now, Macarona already saw Yosafire and Chelan at a table outside on the patio in front of the establishment. Chelan noticed her first and tapped Yosafire to indicate the other angel's arrival, uttering a small hum to welcome their friend. "Macarona," the demon stood up and waved to her, "over here!"

"Chelan, Yosafire," Macarona replied with a smile as she came by to sit down next to the latter, "it's good to see you. Are you both doing well?"

Chelan nodded happily in response as Yosafire answered her. "Yep!" she said cheerfully with her eyes closed for a moment. "We're doing great. The others went inside to see what they'll get, but we already know what we want." Yosafire held up a menu and opened it to a page showing a picture of cheesy pasta. "I'm getting macaroni and cheese!" she exclaimed with a huge grin on her face while Chelan opened her menu to a picture of stuffed shells.

"You sure know your stomach well, Yosafire," Macarona chuckled, the joke also making the demon laugh happily as they both sat down while the other girls came back out.

"You bet! It's one of my closest friends besides you girls!"

"Oh," Dialo quipped, sitting down while taking a napkin to hang it from her collar so it covered her neck to prevent food from falling onto it. "I wasn't aware you sent another invitation without our knowledge of it. Though we are well acquainted with your stomach, why did you not think to introduce us until now?" she inquired, somewhat sarcastically which made Yosafire and Rawberry laugh. "Or did you think to smuggle it here with us unaware?"

"Yeah, sorry about that!" Yosafire laughed.

"At least I'm honest with my food!" Rawberry clapped her hands together, laughing while daydreaming of her own fantasy meal. Everyone knew she was referring to meat of some kind, but luckily for them—and unfortunately for Rawberry—the café did not serve meat like the restaurant.

"You both could stand to go on a diet," Froze remarked, making Yosafire cringe slightly.

"But Froze!" the demon protested in an attempt to persuade her friend that macaroni was good food, even shoving the picture of it in the menu in the angel's face. "It tastes so good!" She turned to other pages and showed her the food on those pages too. "They're all delicious! How can you even suggest that when there's so much scrumptious food to eat?!"

Froze simply pushed the menu away gently, being careful not to knock anything over on the table after Yosafire almost did. "I didn't say you had to diet now; it was a suggestion."

"So I can still savor the joys of food?!"

"Yes, but still be sure to handle it all in moderation," Froze said with a small smile which Yosafire returned with one of her own grins.

"I can agree to that."

"At least I don't need to diet unless big sis says so," Rawberry remarked as she and Yosafire laughed at her comment while Chelan hummed as Dialo, Macarona, and Froze chuckled.

"Yes, I'm sure she'll be quite upset if you gain a little too much weight," Macarona joked as a demon waiter came over to the table for their orders.

Yosafire piped up cheerfully with her macaroni and cheese as Froze ordered a simple plate of ravioli. Dialo ordered stuffed shells for herself and Chelan. Rawberry wanted some pizza, and Macarona, after looking through the menu, went for a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich. All six of them decided to have green tea in addition to the meals they ordered. It wasn't much of a variety, but it didn't matter because that wasn't important.

"So," Yosafire began the conversation as everyone settled down after placing their orders, "how is everybody doing at their jobs?"

Dialo nodded in response as she spoke up first. "Chelan and I enjoy the library. It is a quiet place so we can focus on the work we do, plus the solitude sometimes makes for good reading as we only have to organize the books alphabetically by author and subject and check them out when customers come in to rent them for a while," she explained. "We have dealt with a few customers so far this morning, and the manager is pleased with our first impression on them."

"My job at the florist's is surprisingly peaceful as well," Rawberry spoke up next. "I get to work alongside big sis as we tend to the flowers in the nursery with her friends and sell them too. I would have preferred something more exciting, but I'm glad to be with big sis. I only wish you were there too, Macarona, but sadly we don't have another position available."

"That's quite alright, Rawberry," Macarona said with a polite smile while closing her eyes. "To be honest, I haven't found anything until this morning, so it's not like I really have a choice in the matter whether the job I found is one I want to do or not."

"Why's that?" Froze inquired out of curiosity. "I would have thought there were more jobs available for students looking to do part time work over the break like you girls."

"I know," Macarona nodded in agreement, "but there really weren't any this time. I made calls while reading today's paper to find that plenty of the part time jobs advertised were taken by other people, except for one job in particular which does not seem like something I would normally do. But what can I do? Like I said, I don't have much of a choice; it's either that or nothing."

"Tell us about it," Yosafire requested as she rested her arms on the table. "Do not omit any details. Let's hear what this particular job of yours."

"It's something of a surprise," Macarona answered sheepishly.

"Aw, you won't tell us?" Rawberry asked, her facial expression suggesting she was not too happy with her best friend's odd secrecy. "Rawberry won't laugh."

"N-no, nothing like that, Rawberry," the angel said to try and put her friend at ease. "I just think it would be better for the moment to tell you girls about it after you've all finished with your accounts, that's all. And I appreciate the show of support."

"Is that so, huh?" Froze commented as the waiter arrived with their food and handed their meals to each of them. "Well, I guess I might as well describe my job in Blancblack Castle, though you already know what I do. To reiterate, my job is largely similar to the work Dialo and Chelan do at the library, but I also handle paperwork as well. It can be difficult at times, but I'm fine with my job. Surprisingly enough, Yosaf has been a great assistant," she ended her explanation with a compliment to her best friend and a small smile as she took a sip of her green tea. "Since she had taken the job a couple days ago on Saturday, the work has gone by at a quicker pace so we can get more done. I'm actually amazed at how diligent she is; even Ms. Greif said so too when she noticed Yosaf working hard at her job, but she hopes Yosafire would show that same attitude in school."

"Well, what can I say, Froze?" Yosafire inquired happily. "You and I, we're a team! We can do anything whenever we're together!" Although Froze didn't verbally respond to that, she expressed her gratitude with a small smile and a nod of approval before Yosafire turned her focus back to Macarona. "Alright, now that you've heard about our jobs, let's hear yours, Macarona. Do speak up and tell us all the little details too."

Macarona took a deep breath and prepared to give her friends the news. It was definitely a surprise, and it was going to come at them as such. She knew they wouldn't have expected it from their reactions which would surface as facial expressions after hearing her talk about the job. The most unexpected job she could have taken. "Alright," she finally spoke up after a few moments of silence, steeling herself for the big reveal. "You all know Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts near the food store, right?" she inquired, starting her surprise with a question to lead into her part of the discussion. "The place that displays artwork, sculptures, pottery, things like that?"

"Go on," Dialo encouraged her to continue as she and the other girls nodded to confirm the rhetorical inquiry the angel was making.

"Wait, let me guess," Yosafire spoke up. "You got a job working as a tour guide there, did you? Does that mean you can give us free tours?"

"Don't spoil the surprise, Yosaf," Froze remarked, "let Macarona relate it for us. She is the one telling this story, not us, so it is only fair that she does the explaining as we did with our own accounts." She turned back to the angel. "You may continue, Macarona."

"Thanks Froze, and you are wrong Yosafire. In fact, you're not even close," Macarona said as she was almost done with her sandwich. "You are correct that I am going to work in the museum as heavily implied by my questions, but the position available is—how do I put it?—off the record, if you will. As a matter of fact, it's not a position I would normally go for like I just said minutes ago, but circumstances left me with only that specific job offering."

"Then what is it?" Rawberry inquired, leaning forward as she anticipated Macarona's big reveal. "Just get straight to the point, Macarona; don't leave us hanging here any longer."

Macarona sighed and took another deep breath. "Very well, as you wish." Rawberry leaned in further as did Chelan and Yosafire, the three of them eager to hear what the job was. "The job I took…" she began as they inched closer.

"The job that was available…"

She could feel their anticipation growing.

"The job I had to take…"

It looked as if they were going to froth at the mouths at any moment. While Macarona did want to let them savor it, she felt she'd skirted around the subject long enough. It was a little fun while it lasted, though she took a sip of her green tea and took a quick glance at her watch before she sighed. "Alright," she finally said as a matter-of-factly, "this approach won't do. I'll just come right out and say it since I'm almost running out of time."

"You have to get back to work?" Dialo asked, much to the disappointment of two demons and one angel who were obviously looking forward to the big reveal.

"No, I am going in to speak with the curator about the job which is why I ordered a lighter lunch than you girls, but I still have a bit of time to describe the job as best I can," Macarona said as she finished her sandwich and wiped the crumbs of her mouth with a napkin. She put her arms on the table and looked around the table at her friends, deciding it was either now or later as she took a third deep breath. "For the next seven nights, including tonight as a matter of fact, I will be working as the museum's night guard," she finally said as she got that off her chest.

She expected it, but their silence was still slightly unnerving. Macarona clearly knew the news of her job shocked everyone there. Even Rawberry, who was usually unfazed by pretty much anything, just stared at the angel in utter disbelief. Chelan was always silent, but this sudden turn in the discussion actually left her mouth hanging agape. They all didn't say anything until Yosafire spoke up to parrot the last bit from Macarona's declaration. "The museum's night guard?"

Macarona nodded. "That's right."

"I don't know what should surprise me more," Froze stated as she took time to let it sink in, "the job, or your weird stoicism at seeing our reactions."

"Yeah, about that…" Macarona chuckled sheepishly, "I was surprised myself after talking to the curator on the phone earlier this morning. He said we'd talk about what I shall be doing as the night guard once I arrive and then ask if I still wanted to go through with it or not. I figured it would come as a surprise to you girls too, so I was a little prepared for that."

"Wait, why would you even want to work at such a place during the night?" Yosafire asked with a nervous look on her face. "Have you not heard the rumors about the museum?"

This caught Macarona's attention as the demon's inquiry now made her afraid and rather curious. Perhaps it was because of how eerie Yosafire sounded, but it was likely the fact that she didn't know what rumors she was talking about. "What rumors?" she asked for clarification.

"The rumors about how those animatronics they use at the museum are really monsters out for the blood of angels and demons!" Rawberry exclaimed menacingly, perhaps hoping her tactic would scare the angel into not taking the job. Unfortunately, Macarona was used to her behavior and knew Rawberry's tricks quite well. Needless to say, the mischievous demon's plan failed.

"Right…" she said somewhat sheepishly with a hint of blatant sarcasm. "Yeah, I'm quite sure that is just a rumor meant to scare kids like us."

"But it's true!" Yosafire protested as Dialo held her hand out in front of her to motion for the other demon to sit back down. "It's really true! They really are monsters!"

"A rumor is just a rumor," she said calmly. "It does not have proof to support it unless there is solid evidence backing up whatever the assertion is. If I said there were blue pears, I'd need to prove it by finding a blue pear. I cannot paint it because that would be lying to trick others into the belief that the pear is blue. Now you two stop scaring Macarona so she doesn't enter a fit of fright."

"Well said, Dialo," Macarona complimented her, "and thanks for the support." She stood up as she pulled out her wallet to pay for her meal, having memorized the cost of her sandwich and the tea. "Sorry for leaving so soon, but I really have to get going now. I don't want to be late for a part time job I wasn't even hired for yet."

"Good luck!" Froze called out as their friend began to leave.

"You'll need it!" Rawberry also called out to the angel in a mischievous voice.

"Yes, I certainly will!" Macarona turned around to wave at them. "Goodbye!"

…

The establishment before her was everything Macarona had seen in the ad from the paper. She had also noticed this place from time to time whenever she went to the food store as well, and the angel always felt a sense of pure beauty emanating from this place. It now felt stronger as she stood in front of it and gazed up at its exquisitely shaped Gothic walls with gargoyles perched atop various spots along the roof. The building was two stories high with a large porch at the head of several stairs leading up to the main doors. An overhead roof hung above it with Gothic pillars on it to hold the roof in place. Beautiful stained glass windows dotted the building, and Macarona saw at least twelve of them on the front wall, six on each side of the doors, three per floor. Above the structure was a large sign that read "Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts." This was the place she would be working at for the week, specifically seven nights at Clarabella's.

Other angels and demons came and went to and from the museum as Macarona walked up the stairs to the double doors and opened them. Stepping through the threshold inside, her awe increased as she marveled at all of the exhibits in the lobby. In the very center of the first floor was a massive tree constructed from clay with decorative paper as its leaves and the name of the museum carved into the front of it. Display cases with works of pottery, jewelry, and several other forms of artwork lined the wall as did paintings and drawings that hung above them. To her left was a wing devoted entirely to pottery, to the right another wing dedicated to paintings. A map on the wall near her pointed out that two additional wings were upstairs on the second floor. They were the wings for sculptures and jewelry. It was not a big museum, but it had almost everything.

Heading over to the reception desk where an angel and demon were chatting amicably, she picked up a brochure for the museum and looked through it to get an idea of what the exhibits were like. Macarona had never been to Clarabella's before, so she wanted to get acclimated to the place she would hopefully be working for part time over spring break. As she finished reading it, the attendants noticed her after their conversation and turned to speak with her. "Excuse me," the angel inquired as she got Macarona's attention, "may we help you Miss?"

"Oh, yes, hi," Macarona spoke up as she closed the brochure and held her hand out to shake their hands. "My name's Macarona. I called earlier about the position of being a night guard."

"Oh, you're the new girl," the demon commented as she shook Macarona's hand. "The one coming here for part time work, correct?" she inquired to which Macarona nodded. "Yes, we heard about you from Xerxes. He told us to let you know he'll be waiting for you up on the second floor." She pointed up to where Xerxes office was, indicating that it was near the center of the back wall.

"Ah, thanks," Macarona bowed to show her gratitude as she began to head towards one of the nearby elevators to go up. "Have a good day."

"You too," the angel said as Macarona turned to leave. "Oh, and by the way," she called after her, "you're pretty brave for taking that job. I sure wouldn't want to be here late at night with those animatronics we've got here running around!"

"Yeah, thanks again," Macarona replied, noting the comment about the animatronics. That was the second time she heard about them, the first being when Rawberry and Yosafire brought it up at the café. Perhaps that rumor may have had some truth to it after all, but Macarona brushed it off as nothing more than that. This place might have used animatronics, but that in of itself didn't mean they were dangerous unless the animatronics malfunctioned and possibly went haywire.

As Macarona stepped in front of the elevator and pressed the call button while waiting for the elevator to come down, she spied a bit of movement out of the corner of her eye and turned in the direction it came from. An animatronic, one of the several this place appeared to have, walked over to a group of children with balloons and a box of handmade crafts for each of them. It looked like an ordinary construct, nothing too serious because it came across as quite friendly. Impressions could be deceiving, but she wasn't fazed in the slightest since the animatronic didn't look strong. Macarona was actually very strong for a shy, timid angel like her, so if an animatronic came after her she could crush it easily in her grip; though the museum probably wouldn't allow it and she'd be in a lot of trouble for destroying it even though it would've been in self-defense.

The animatronic was in the form of an angelic warrior decked out in heavy armor with a plastic sword attached to its belt. Its bright colored armor was painted gold and blue, while the sword was green. It didn't make much sense why it would be built like that, so that was a question Macarona could ask Xerxes when she met with him upstairs.

The elevator door opened and she stepped inside after the people inside came out. Pressing the button for the second floor, Macarona rode it up there and walked out onto the floor as two men stepped out of the office she was pointed to. One of them was an angel attired in a blue t-shirt, jeans, and regular shoes. He appeared to be an average visitor to the museum, but a nametag on his shirt read "Marcus, Head of Sculptures," indicating that he was one of the executive employees. The other man, a demon with a black ponytailed style haircut, was dressed in a light green jacket over a red t-shirt, jeans, and brown boots. His nametag read "Xerxes, Museum Curator."

They were conversing about a possible addition to the museum as Macarona approached them when they finished speaking. "Excuse me, sir," she asked as he turned to face her while the other angel he was talking with went in the other direction, "would you happen to be Mr. Xerxes?" Although she had read his nametag clearly, Macarona still wanted to confirm if it was him.

He nodded in response as he then spoke up. "Why yes, young lady. How might I help you?"

"Hi, I'm Macarona," she introduced herself and held her hand to shake his. "We spoke over the phone earlier about my application for part time work as a night guard."

"Ah, Macarona," he said as he allowed her to enter his office. "Come right in. I've been expecting you. You've come a bit earlier than I expected."

"I have, yes," she admitted. "I wanted to see what this place was like before the job so I can determine what I'm required to do."

"Excellent," Xerxes complimented her diligence. "You look like a great candidate for the job. I'm impressed you're considering the position over something else that might be available."

"To be honest, I have been looking at other job offerings. I called several other places, but any positions were all taken," Macarona said as Xerxes sat down behind his desk and nodded.

"So it's not like you had much of a choice in the matter, I see."

"You could say that," Macarona responded as she too sat down across from him after she had a good look around his office. There were file cabinets against one wall and a bookshelf across from them on the other side. Shelves were lined up neatly and hung over the floor with various works of craftsmanship sitting in respective spots. Xerxes' desk looked very neat with a calendar mat on top of it, a pencil holder with several pencils in it at one corner, a stack of documents over by another corner, and a picture of his family as well.

"Well, in any case I'm glad you arrived," Xerxes said as he brought out a contract for her to sign. "You can hold onto this for a bit. Don't sign it yet until after the interview in case you change your mind. First I want to ask about the basics, the kind of questions an employer asks to form an impression of the applicant, that kind of stuff. Then I'd like to show you around the wings of this museum to point out where the cameras are and then take you down to where your station will be. Does that sound alright to you, Macarona?"

"Yes, that's fine, Mr. Xerxes," she answered as she took the contract and looked it over carefully. Some parts of it were pretty simple to understand, but one last part caught her eye. That last bit down at the bottom talked about death under any circumstances would be investigated and thoroughly looked through to determine whether the museum was responsible. "What does this bit here mean?" she inquired about it and showed him the contract again, pointing to that section.

It wasn't that she was all that fearful of what the statement implied, but Macarona had to admit it did make her feel nervous to have read something indicating that the museum was hiding something sinister. A dark secret it wished to keep buried beneath the façade of a peaceful museum where admirers could behold stunning works of art and decorative crafts. Perhaps that rumor did have an element of truth to it after all, though it didn't hurt to confirm its validity.

"Ah, that," Xerxes took the contract back and skimmed the specific part she pointed out to him. "The previous curator put that in and with good reason. It's actually one of the last things I'm required to inform you of at the end of the interview meeting. Like I said, sign the contract if you want to after the meeting; this bit will be a key decisive factor determining whether you'll take the job or not. Are you okay with that, Macarona?"

Macarona nodded in agreement in spite of herself, though she was feeling pretty brave right now. She was scared when Ivlis invaded, but that eventually raised her spirits and gave the angel much confidence to face down Ivlis and his forces to help save the Grey Garden. The moment in particular when she finally found her courage was after an awful, idiotic flame demon wearing a pair of stupid looking shades almost killed Froze and shoved her off a cliff, making Yosafire jump off to save her. She didn't care who that jerk was, nor did she even bother to think about him; he was quite mean, but he was also a total loser for the most part. "Yes," she said to answer Xerxes' question, "I'm fine with it. I'd like to get all the facts first before I make a decision. One should never jump to any conclusions straight away without understanding everything first."

Xerxes closed his eyes and grinned. "You're a lot more thoughtful and perceptive than I'd expected. I'm sure you'll do fine if you accept. You are one of the best applicants I've spoken to, especially since you're willing to hear all about the job first."

"Thank you, sir," Macarona also closed her eyes and smiled.

"Now then," Xerxes got right down to business, "since I've already got a good impression of you from our conversation, I just need to ask you what your skills are."

"Well," Macarona began, "I am pretty strong even though I have a weak constitution. Lady Etihw herself over in Blancblack Castle even examined my strength and found my grip strength to be about five hundred. Aside from that, I'm very well organized and neat as I like everything to be in its proper place. I'm also a diligent student at school and I make sure to get all of my work done on time while inquiring for other assignments if there is more for me to do."

"Interesting," Xerxes said after nodding several times while she spoke. "You sound like an excellent candidate for the position, especially with that impressive grip strength of yours. I'm surprised you haven't considered a position in helping to move heavy objects." He joked to make her laugh. She giggled as he chuckled for a moment before resuming the conversation. "Alright, now with that out of the way, I'll show you around to acclimate you to the museum and point out where each of the cameras in the wings and the lobby are."

He stood up to head over to the door and opened it as she followed him out. Xerxes took her to the several wings in the museum, starting with the two on the second floor and finishing with the ones on the first floor. Cameras, he showed her, were located on the ceiling in each wing in each corner, one per wing. He also pointed out all of the animatronics to her, including the one animatronic Macarona had seen before. The other three included an archer clad in light blue cloth armor holding a bow; a healer wearing a brown robe and a black mask wielding a staff; and a mage shrouded in red robes with a large, plastic book in its hands. One thing Macarona noticed was that they were all angels; none of them were demons.

"Excuse me, Mr. Xerxes?" she inquired while eyeing the archer in the painting wing from where she was in the lobby as she and Xerxes returned to the elevator for one last stop on the tour.

"What's up?" he asked, pressing the button on the elevator to call it to the floor.

"Why do all of the animatronics look like angels?" Macarona asked she turned to face him. "Are there also demon animatronics as well?"

Xerxes shook his head. "No, there's not, but the answer to your first question shall make sense once I go over the history behind them after I take you to where you'll be working at night. It has to do with that one statement in the contract, but I'd rather not talk about it in public. I don't want to scare the visitors even though they're likely aware of it," he explained, raising an inquiry in Macarona's mind concerning what secrets the history held while also possibly alluding to the rumor that they were violent. Though she couldn't be sure since the two theories didn't seem to be connected, so Macarona dropped the subject for now while still allowing it acknowledgement.

The elevator came up and the doors opened as Xerxes and Macarona stepped inside it. He pushed one of the buttons on the panel that was marked to indicate they were heading down into a basement level of the establishment. "Here we are," Xerxes remarked as he presented the basement to her, "the workshops where we produce various works of arts and crafts for the museum and the gift shop on the first floor. It is a large place with the four main workshops and additional space to store seasonal pieces until the proper season comes around. Right now everything you've seen up in the museum correlates to spring, so the next works to come out are suited to summer. We also set up cameras down here as well in each of the workshops and corridors."

"I take it I'll be working somewhere down here, correct?" Macarona asked as Xerxes led her down a couple of corridors to a security office.

"Indeed, you are right," he answered as they entered the office. "For the duration of your part time job, you'll be taking over the position of the museum's night guard as we discussed. You will be working seven nights this week. The office has two doors," he pointed to each of the doors including the one they came in, "and lights outside each door with windows by them so you can see what's outside. The camera feed is here at the front of the room, one television for each set of cameras on the first and second floors and the basement. Two automatic doors are set up to close at the push of these buttons here," he pointed to the red buttons underneath the light switches, "and the camera feed will show anything going on at night in the museum. Any questions on that?"

"Just one, yes," she nodded. "Why are there automatic doors?"

"It's to keep the animatronics out," Xerxes answered her as-a-matter-of-factly.

"The animatronics?" Macarona was slightly confused, but perhaps this would validate the truth in that rumor about the animatronics attacking people.

"Yes, they're heavily involved in that one statement you read in the contract," Xerxes said as he began to explain. "You see, Macarona, these animatronics are no ordinary machines; they're actually former weapons from the war prior to when the Grey Garden was constructed."

This took Macarona by surprise. "They were…former weapons?" She allowed the last two words to roll off her tongue as she said them, taking in the realization that the animatronics were in fact built to kill. "But aren't they supposed to be safe now?"

"During the day at least," Xerxes commented as his face darkened while he continued, but he was not angry. If anything, he was now getting into one of the more serious issues with the job. "The history behind them is certainly one of bloodshed; I make no secret of that and have even put the story out in public. Arts and crafts weren't Clarabella's only specialty; she was also an engineer for the angels during the war and created the animatronics to fight against demons like myself."

Macarona put her finger to her chin as she considered that. "That explains why they look like fighters, but they have been reconfigured to be friendly, right?"

"Like I just said, they behave well only during the day," Xerxes said. "At night their servos switch back to their old programming. We tried to fix that by removing software in them to prevent the animatronics from harming people. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to."

"Why?"

"Simply put," Xerxes continued, "the previous curator who still owns the museum will not allow us to repair the animatronics unless he personally supervises maintenance. His family owns the animatronics; they are his property to use as he pleases. Updating them or doing anything else that might change their programming or damage them in some way would accrue a serious case against the museum and its staff in which we would be sued for anything done to the animatronics. I and the other executives have spoken with him about this numerous times, but he does not budge because he says these animatronics are important to his ancestor."

"So he is a descendent of Clarabella, I assume," Macarona remarked as Xerxes shrugged.

"Beats me. He never really did talk about his family often aside from very few comments. Still, the legal ramifications are in place, so there is nothing we can do about the animatronics in the way of altering their programing. All we could do is provide you the same protection policies we've offered to others in the same position as night guards."

"And these doors are your only protection policy?" Macarona inquired. "I do not mean to come across as rude and ungrateful, but it seems like the doors alone might not cut it."

"It's quite alright, Macarona," Xerxes said reassuringly, "I understand your concern. True, the doors alone are not enough. That's why we have installed sensors in the elevator to prevent the animatronics from coming down here on their own when active. We also have a separate generator running at night to keep the basement fully powered, and it is also connected to the cameras too so you can keep a close watch on the animatronics. Their behavior as weapons functions at night, as part of the original software the previous curator kept so the animatronics could function just as they did back when the war was still active and our respective people were fighting."

"I guess you might also want to consider paying them for helping to guard the museum," Macarona joked lightheartedly, hoping it would ease the tension of this conversation.

Xerxes laughed at Macarona's idea. "Yeah, the other employees and I have thought about that as well. But in all seriousness," he resumed the topic so he could finish informing her about the animatronics, "one of the reasons why we need a night guard is to prevent them from escaping the museum and wreaking havoc on the Grey Garden. We have keys to lock the doors, but there is a switch in this office to keep the doors strong and firm so they don't get broken down. It's on this panel right here on the desk," he said while pointing to the switch.

"In other words," Macarona said as she realized the significance of this job she would be taking if she decided on it, "the night guard not only protects the museum and himself or herself, but also the Grey Garden as a whole." It was an incredible weight on the shoulders of just a single individual, but Macarona had participated in the defense against Ivlis and even fought against him with her friends. His forces were legion, but there were only four animatronics here. It was actually a great deal easier than the assault, but the job still had its difficulties like getting in trouble if the animatronics were damaged in self-defense, so Macarona couldn't take up arms to protect herself.

"Exactly," Xerxes nodded. "You've hit the nail on the head, Macarona. Are there any more questions concerning the work and safety procedures?"

"A couple," Macarona replied. "First, are other night guards working with me? Second, do the safety procedures function properly so that the animatronics don't descend to the basement?"

"No, you'll be by yourself at night," Xerxes said. "The safety procedures…" Here his voice died away somewhat as he closed his hand and put it to his chin. "How shall I put this?" he asked himself while considering how best to word his answer. This gave Macarona cause for some alarm because it sounded like the safety procedures really weren't that safe as Xerxes began to explain.

"Another night guard before you complained about that. She said the animatronics actually rode the elevator down despite the sensors in place to prevent it from going to any of the floors in this museum. They can use the stairs up in in the main sections of the museum, but not the elevator. The sensors worked fine when we checked them, but somehow the animatronics still came down here even though the sensors were supposed to stop them. The previous night guard also said they even tried to tamper with the generator, but were unsuccessful. The other executives and I looked at the footage and confirmed her story, so we put extra safeguards in place so they won't tamper with it. The sensors in the elevators are also checked daily and maintained on a regular basis, so hopefully they'll work properly to keep the animatronics out. That said, something fishy must be going on around here to cause the strange malfunction in the sensors enabling them to come down."

"I see…" Macarona merely nodded to show she fully understood the pros and cons of being a night guard. It was a potentially dangerous job, one that left her incapable of fighting back not because of a handicap, but because of the legality concerning the animatronics' welfare. They were not allowed to harm or kill her even though they could somehow break that law, yet she could not do the same in self-defense. The peace and laws of the Grey Garden forbid her from protecting her life, just as this museum was meant to protect the lives of its inhabitants from animatronics while still maintaining its day to day activities and letting visitors gaze upon works of art.

"So what'll it be?" Xerxes inquired as he held the contract in his hand. "Are you sure you want the job? It's fine if you don't. I understand it can be scary to handle four animatronics alone at night, so don't force yourself into signing the contract if you really don't want to."

But Macarona already made her decision. "I'll take it," she said with a firm voice, ready to serve as the night guard for Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts. It was risky, but somebody needed to do it. If not her, someone else might come along and refuse the job entirely and possibly ward others away from the museum which would be bad for business because then the place would have to close down permanently. Macarona realized this, and knew she had to do the job for the safety of the Grey Garden. Though Xerxes said she didn't have to force herself, Macarona had no choice in the matter if she wanted to protect her home and the friends she cherished, as well as everyone else who called the Grey Garden home, angels and demons alike.

"You're very brave," Xerxes complimented her as she took the contract to sign her name to it and put her cellphone number down as well. "I really admire your courage to undergo this."

"Thanks," Macarona said simply as she finished signing and handed it back to him. "If I can help keep the Grey Garden safe, I'll do all I can in any way possible. Besides, a couple of my friends have referred to the animatronics as being deadly at lunch, and the receptionists brought it up too, so I was already somewhat familiar with the concept."

"Things like that are bound to become public knowledge at some point," Xerxes agreed. "I am glad to have let it circulate in public when I acquired the curatorship so people will know that the job can be dangerous. There are probably some secrets here, and I'm more than willing to have them disclosed to the public. Though it is possible that can drive away visitors, I like to think the truth helps portray this place favorably since people will recognize the integrity of our workforce."

"Indeed, I too strive for integrity as well," Macarona nodded. "Now tell me, sir, when do the animatronics activate during the night? Is there a specific time their old software turns on? I'd like to be well prepared by the time they become dangerous."

It never hurt to be ready for anything, especially in a place like this as the night guard.

"Certainly, the animatronics revert to their former programming from the war after eight at night. They always become active following that point, so you should come in earlier than that if you want to get ready and be prepared for them."

"Alright, thank you, Mr. Xerxes," Macarona said as she shook his hand as part of the start of their business relationship from employer to employee.

"Please, just call me Xerxes," he said as he then turned to leave the room with her. "We're an informal group of associates and friends, so we prefer referring to each other by our first names. Our attire is also casual as you may have noticed, so your current attire is just fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to head into a workshop to discuss a project with some other employees. I trust you'll be able to see yourself out on your own, I take it?"

"Yes, thank you," Macarona said as they split up to head their respective ways. She would be alone tonight and the subsequent six nights as well, on her own against four deadly animatronics capable of causing some serious harm to the Grey Garden if unleashed from their prison known to many as the museum. Once again, the fate of the Grey Garden and now Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts rested firmly upon her shoulders.

As Macarona left the museum and looked at it before going on her way, someone from up above on the second floor watched her depart and then turned to enter Xerxes' office.

…

**Alright, this concludes the very first chapter of Seven Nights at Clarabella's. I have been working diligently on this for the past several days to commemorate the confirmation of Five Nights at Freddy's 3, the third installment of a great horror video game franchise. I alluded to this in **_Work is Never Done_**, and now here it is for you to read.**

**To be honest, I have never played Five Nights at Freddy's and its sequel, and the same goes for the Grey Garden (as some of you who have read my previous Grey Garden stories, **_Sick Day on the Night Shift_** and **_Work is Never Done_**, may know). However, I have watched let's plays of these games, so I'm quite familiar with them and what they are about.**

**I made several alterations to how the story flows in accordance with the Grey Garden and Five Nights at Freddy's. First, I extended the number of nights from five to seven because I felt it would be good to expand upon the story by adding in more places where I can touch upon the lore behind this specific story. It will be different from Five Nights at Freddy's lore, but shall still be similar while fitting into the lore of the Grey Garden. However, a downside is that I have to determine the content of each night so that they're all different from one another. Second, I added four hours of more time for each night to try and include more content if I can, so it will be quite a challenge to put content into chapters covering the nights. Third is the location which is original so as to fit in with the Grey Garden while still retaining the feel of Five Nights at Freddy's. It is a museum as the chapter states, and the establishment is much larger and has more cameras to focus on for each floor of the museum. Fourth, characters both in canon and original were included to capture the feel of the Grey Garden and make the story more engaging than to simply use Macarona, the animatronics, and the person over the phone. In my opinion, these ideas were necessary because they improve the story while blending the Grey Garden and Five Nights at Freddy's together into one story to form something that brings the best of both worlds together.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoy writing it.**

**Disclaimers: I don't own the Grey Garden; it is owned by Mogeko. I also don't own Five Nights at Freddy's; it is own by Scott Cawthon.**


	2. Chapter Two: The First Night

It was about seven thirty at night when Macarona returned to the museum with a lunchbox in her hand. Having taken a nap this afternoon and a shower after that, she felt wide awake for her first night as a night guard inside Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts. It was going to be hard, but not too difficult in keeping the animatronics where they were and out of the basement so they would stay away from the all too important switch for the front doors. Yet Macarona was in fact ready because Xerxes informed her of the animatronics' violent past and their aggressive behavior which was still in effect after eight tonight like any other night. To her the job was easy and much simpler than Ivlis' assault on the Grey Garden, so she was not afraid of those animatronics even though they were dangerous. Hopefully they wouldn't harm her or get out.

The courtyard was fairly quiet as nobody else was in sight despite some children playing outside at this time of night over near the main gate. She waved at them on her way over and they waved back, stopping only after she turned around when they saw her go through the gate. It didn't deter their playing, but it was likely they heard of any suspicious rumors concerning the museum and its animatronics. However, they weren't scared of them during the day because they were nice and gave out gifts to children, so it wasn't like they were all that bad.

Of course, Macarona knew better since she heard all about them from Xerxes earlier that day when he brought her down to the museum's basement. She was fully aware they could be quite a handful, so she wanted to ensure she stayed awake tonight to prevent them from escaping. Those children were very sweet, so Macarona wanted to protect them from the big, mean animatronics.

As she sauntered up the steps, however, Macarona heard a twig snap behind her and turned around to see who was there. It was only a squirrel, so she felt relieved it wasn't anything bad or scary. Although she did catch a small glimpse of some movement from one of the windows on the second story, Macarona assumed it was Xerxes or another employee of the museum. She opened the doors and stepped inside, shutting them behind her as she made her way to the elevator to inform Xerxes she arrived on time. Fortunately, he stepped out as she was heading over and saw her coming. He waved to her while the elevator door closed.

"Macarona, good to see you came. I don't doubt my employees, but I was starting to think you had second thoughts about this job. Sorry about that."

"It's quite alright, Xerxes," Macarona said, pressing the button to open the elevator. "It is only the first night; I would have the same idea as you under the circumstances concerning these animatronics." She stepped inside as he began to say something else.

"I'll just wait in front of the door and signal for you to switch on the defense," Xerxes said while gesturing towards the camera by the front door. "Don't forget to turn off all the lights. The switches for each wing are attached to the thresholds."

Macarona nodded as the elevator closed while she pressed the basement button. "Alright," she said before it shut and went down. The elevator came to a halt and opened at the basement as she exited and walked down the hall to the security office where Macarona found the three sets of camera feed. The one to her right was for the first floor, so Macarona pressed one of the buttons on the television to switch over from the pottery wing to the painting wing, coming to where the third camera was at by the entrance. She watched as Xerxes gave her a thumbs up and walked out of the building before flipping the switch to initiate the lockdown.

A quick glance her watch showed it was seven forty. "Okay," Macarona remarked as she picked up a flashlight from a hook by one of the doors and stepped outside the office. "It's time to check the animatronics and shut the lights off."

The trip back to the elevator was uneventful as she just went straight there, leaving all the lights down here for when she came back. Riding it up to the second floor, Macarona stepped out and proceeded to the sculpture wing, crossing the threshold and walking down to the end of the wing where the healer was. It stood atop a platform with a plaque on the base reading its name and the description of what the angel was like. From what it said, the healer was named Cleopatra, an angel from the war who sacrificed her own life to save her comrades. Macarona felt a need to say a prayer for Cleopatra and did so silently for a few moments, thanking the healer for her noble endeavor which cost her the only life she had until this animatronic was constructed to honor her. Afterwards she returned to the threshold and shut off the lights for that wing.

Next was the jewelry wing across the lobby. Again, Macarona crossed the threshold as she sauntered over to the animatronic, the mage. Like Cleopatra, this one also had a plaque with the name and description for the mage. The mage animatronic was Germain, a scholar of renown on the angels' side of the war who passed away of old age near the end of the war. He helped to make the deadly tomes battlemages wielded against the demons, and he was also a recluse since he lived on the very edge of a forest by a sea coastline. Macarona gave a silent prayer for him too and went back to the threshold to turn off the lights. Then she returned to the elevator.

The first floor was her next stop, starting with the pottery wing to her left. Like the previous wings up on the second floor, Macarona repeated the same pattern of checking the animatronic at the end of the wing before shutting the lights off. This one was the warrior, Leonidas, a nobleman of the angels who took up the cause to fight because he wanted to defend his people and comrades. He was on the front lines when he finally perished in battle, sacrificing his life to save the soldiers in his regiment. Once more Macarona gave him a prayer and turned off the lights.

Finally she came to the painting wing where she met the archer, Robin. According to the plaque, Robin was a scout for the angels in one of their scouting parties, serving with Alela Grora from Blancblack Castle no less. Macarona figured she'd have to ask Miss Grora about her as she continued reading, learning that Robin gave her own life to lead a legion of demons away from her squad when it was in danger of being pinned down. She gave Robin a prayer just as she did to the others before shutting the lights in the painting wing off.

With all of the wings now in darkness, Macarona checked her watch to find it was now two minutes to seven fifty. "Perfect, I've got enough time to get back to the security office," she said to herself as she strode to the back wall of the lobby and flipped the lights off after she had turned the flashlight on. It was much darker now that the blinds were closed with the lights off, but she wasn't afraid. The animatronics were not active yet, leaving Macarona with plenty of time to turn off all the lights down in the basement and return to the security office. The complaints of a night guard, her predecessor in fact, remained imprinted on her mind as she walked to the elevator…

…And froze in her tracks at what sounded like a noise coming from behind her. Macarona whirled around and shone the flashlight in the direction it came from, above on the second floor. She took several steps back as she looked up to see if anyone or anything was there, but nothing. Although she had half-expected the animatronics to come alive earlier than expected, Macarona gradually waved it off as her just hearing things. Maybe it was part of a tree branch she saw outside of the window behind Xerxes in his office scratching against the glass.

She shrugged and returned to the elevator, pressing the button to open the door and stepping inside. As it went down to the basement, the light suddenly began to flicker momentarily. It was for a few brief seconds, really, so Macarona wrote it off as the lightbulb merely losing power. The thing was easily replaceable, but she didn't have time for that kind of maintenance which she also didn't know how to perform in an elevator. She'd just leave it to one of the janitors she saw before when she was being showed around earlier that day.

"It'll take more than that to scare me away," Macarona said to herself as she exited once she reached the basement. Proceeding to each of the four workshops, she found the light switches by each of the doors and paused in the workshops momentarily first to catch a quick glimpse of the artwork the museum employees were producing for the current season and next season. From what the brochure said when she read it before, the museum always swapped out pieces each week to keep the exhibits fresh on a weekly basis. It must have been a lot of work making the art, putting it on display for each week, and bringing everything back down here to swap it all out for other pieces, especially with just the one elevator. Perhaps Xerxes and the other staff had plans to install another elevator or two to make it easier on themselves by cutting down on trips to and from.

Turning off the lights in the workshops, Macarona did the same with the corridors as she returned to the security office to begin the real task of her job: the challenge to ensure the museum's animatronics stayed on the upper floors once their old programming came alive. It was especially hard given that the sensors didn't function properly for some reason as confirmed by the previous night guard, but Macarona knew she could do fine as long as the separate generator was in good condition. Otherwise she could get hurt, and the animatronics would get out. No pressure of course.

As she discovered upon checking the lights in the security office, Macarona learned they only lit up a small area of the corridors, just enough for her to see out of both windows on either side. She wouldn't be able to see them from far away in the dark basement without her flashlight if she shone it out in the halls, but she could still hear their heavy footsteps trudging on the floor.

Sitting down in her chair, Macarona took her lunchbox from the spot by the security feed where she had left it before heading to the first and second floors to shut off the lights. She opened it up and lightly knocked the side of her head with her fist sheepishly. "Oh, that's where I left my cell phone. I almost forgot I had it with me," she said as she pulled it out and checked the time on her watch. It was now seven fifty-five, just five minutes till eight o' clock. While it was good to know how much time she had left before the appointed time when the animatronics would become active, an icon over in the lower right corner of the phone's screen indicated there was a missed call for her. Macarona went into the voice mail feature on the phone and examined the call, noting that it did not come from anyone she knew. This number wasn't in her contacts and she certainly never saw it before, so it was mystery who this caller was. At first she thought it could have been a wrong number, but Macarona realized that the call lasted for about several minutes or so. Maybe she actually was the intended recipient for this call, so she pressed a button to listen to it. Macarona heard her phone ring several times before the voice on the other end started speaking.

_"Ah, hello? Hello, can you hear me? It seems I got your voice mail instead of you directly. For all I know, you could very well be dead instead of—well, alive, basically. That's bad, very bad considering the circumstances you've found yourself in tonight. I'm questioning your sanity right now as to why you would want to work as a night guard of all occupations. There has to be other work you can do elsewhere. Anywhere is good so long as it isn't here—specifically in the position in which you've found yourself—and even if there isn't it would still be better for you to have not taken this job. Which is important: your life or the wage you are looking to get from the job? I guarantee it'll be the former; it always is even if you want to use the latter to improve the former."_

The voice sighed before continuing. It sounded like this person was using a device to mask his or her voice so that the person wouldn't be recognized.

_"Alright, I understand how that may be misconstrued. Sorry for my rudeness, but I would like for you to understand that I'm not calling on a whim just to say hi. Technically I already did just to test if my call is coming through, but that's beside the point. Anyway, where to begin?"_

Macarona could hear some distorted mumbling from the other end as the time on her watch read seven fifty-seven, three more minutes until eight.

_"Okay, let me start from the beginning. I was a night guard; I worked that job before you. You're probably thinking you'll do well if follow the simple instructions set up for you, but this is a lot more complex than what you may believe. Since I don't want to beat around the bush, I'll get straight to the point on this and explain it afterwards. Now then, the very first thing you should know is that the animatronics this museum is using are violent due to an issue with their software. You might think they've gone haywire, but a certain part of their programming wasn't removed by the engineers and technicians when the museum started using them. Basically, these animatronics were used in the war between angels and demons, so they have retained the tendency to attack on sight any demons who happen to be in the perimeter."_

Macarona already knew that from Xerxes' explanation, so she was already well aware of that. She looked at her watch again and saw another minute pass.

_"However, I have looked into their behavior and found they don't just assault demons; the angels are their victims as well. Each of the victims I've spoken with, both angels and demons, are afraid to come forward thinking nobody will believe their story. They don't know each other and they refuse to find support from fellow victims. I'm trying to change that. I couldn't convince them to band together as a group and petition for the animatronics to be abolished and destroyed, but the very least I can do is prepare you for what to look for as you observe the animatronics. If that hopefully saves your life tonight, go right to the curator and quit first thing in the morning. Your life isn't worth the wage you'll receive if you complete the whole week; it's far more significant."_

Another minute went by. It was now seven fifty-nine.

_"Now there are four animatronics, all of which you may have seen in the museum and also all of which are out to kill you. Each one of them will try to get inside the security office and kill you for that precious switch they can use to escape. Aside from their aggressive nature, they will usually wander the first and second floors until they enter the basement where they will continue to wander aimlessly. At some point they'll try to damage the generator; if they succeed, the power will slowly go down until it eventually reaches zero. At that point there won't be enough power to keep the doors open which leaves them the opportunity to slaughter you and break out."_

Macarona felt a chill run down her spine as the clock finally read eight. She checked each of the cameras carefully at that point to see if the animatronics started becoming active. Luckily it looked like they hadn't just yet. The voice on the other end was almost done talking.

_"I won't keep you any longer since I know you have a job to do. My only wish is for you to have good luck in your endeavor. A few of the other victims didn't have that, and—well, let's just say they no longer have to suffer this nightmare any longer. The rest could use the peace, and I'm positive you would like that too; though not to the same extent. Just get through the night and never return. It's the best choice to make, one you'll feel very grateful for once you've put this job behind you for good. I hope you listened to my advice very carefully and made the right choice. Goodbye."_

And that was the end of the message. Macarona briefly checked when she got the call and found it had been made at seven thirty, right when she was on her way to the museum. Although she thought about deleting the message, Macarona felt it was significant in some way. She could ask Xerxes about it tomorrow and get his opinion on the matter. From what the person on the other end of the call said, angels were also in danger in addition to demons, but she figured that would be the case. It still didn't scare her, but the one comment about some victims likely having been killed on the job made her shudder somewhat. Even so, Macarona was hardly scared all that much; if anything, that just made her more determined to keep these animatronic characters inside.

Ivlis' invasion was far worse and she got through that okay. If she could handle that, she could survive this. "I'll get through this…" Macarona murmured to herself as she kept checking on the animatronics. "I'm strong…I can do this."

The fact that the animatronics hadn't come alive yet didn't surprise her. They remained in that dormant state for around fifteen more minutes until Robin showed a bit of movement. Slowly, the archer stepped off the platform, taking three small steps onto the floor towards an exhibit. She looked at it for a while and stayed there as Macarona switched to the other three.

The rest still displayed signs of inactivity, so Macarona switched back to the painting wing again. Robin was on the move now, gradually making her way towards the lobby with some pauses by each of the exhibits to gaze upon them as if she hadn't seen them before. Perhaps it was because these were the newer pieces for this week. That might've explained the fascination with the art.

"I guess you guys really like art, huh," she remarked quietly as she observed Robin for a bit longer before switching to Leonidas, finding that he too was now becoming active and partaking in the same activity as Robin was. Curious to see if Germain and Cleopatra were also awake, she turned to the television for the security feed of the second floor. Cleopatra was slowly awakening, but Germain was still on the platform. Like her fellow animatronics, the healer gradually walked around the second floor to observe the artwork just as the two were doing on the first.

It didn't look like they were becoming hostile yet, or were even aware of her presence yet. Macarona knew they would come down the elevator at some point in an attempt to reach the switch that served as their key out of this building, though it didn't seem like the case just yet. As she watched the footage, Macarona became aware that Leonidas and Robin met up and walked around the lobby together as slowly as animatronics like them would go. They both looked at one another several times and their movements appeared to suggest they were conversing with one another. It was all rather interesting as if they were behaving like normal people, which was unexpected since Macarona heard they were more dangerous at night than friendly. Perhaps to angels and demons, but the sense of hostility wasn't present between the animatronics.

Germain still hadn't moved yet, but maybe he was going to at some point later that night. Gradually the hours whiled away and he still stayed on that platform. By now it was twelve thirty and he hadn't even budged. By contrast, Germain's companions were fully awake and aware of their surroundings with Cleopatra staring at him as Leonidas and Robin appreciated the art on their floor. The time just went by like that with no problems whatsoever.

At one point the warrior and archer acted as if they made a curious discovery. They saw the camera by the front door and watched it for a while. It had been ten minutes since one forty-one, and now it was close to two in the morning. Macarona was beginning to think the job was a lot easier than she expected and that the rumors, Xerxes explanation, and the account from the one person over the phone were all just stories meant to scare her as if they were testing her mettle. Still, she had her reservations as she also thought the animatronics were lulling her into a false sense of security. "Whatever you're planning, I won't fall for it," she said with some confidence.

Pulling his sword from its sheath, Leonidas made the camera shake a bit as he gently tapped it. He raised his other arm at it slowly as if taking a cautious approach to what he was doing and waved his hand. This could have been him testing to see if the camera was working properly of if someone was on the other end. Whether the gesture was friendly or not, Macarona waved back from her end in the security office to return the gesture. "Hello," she said softly, taking a bite of a sandwich she made for herself, the second one she brought with her tonight. "Good to see you."

Minutes passed until it was two o' clock. Robin had moved on by now, going to the elevator and waiting by it for a brief period of time. Her gaze caught a glimpse of the lobby's second camera and the animatronic fixated on it. Macarona only took notice of this after checking up on Germain and Cleopatra. The healer had evidently given up on the mage at this point and was now moving to the railing in the lobby's second floor where she gazed down at the tree as if in admiration of it.

The animatronics had all paused in their movements. Checking her watch, Macarona noted it was now two thirty-nine. It was roughly close to three.

She switched the camera feed on the first television back to the door where Leonidas was and received quite a shock at his next move. The sword which he still held out to the camera had moved down in a swift notion as the security feed from that spot died out completely. Macarona gasped at this sudden, unexpected event. "He killed the camera…" she whispered softly and went back to the second one in the lobby and watched as Robin stepped in the elevator. The door closed, but Macarona couldn't see what was going on in there since there wasn't a camera inside it.

In all likelihood she assumed Robin was heading straight down this instant to flip the switch and escape the museum with her comrades. Hesitating slightly, Macarona seized the flashlight and rushed out into the corridors, heading straight to the elevator and stopping at a corner across from it. She peered around gradually and watched the elevator for a few moments, hearing it coming closer to the basement as it descended the shaft. However, she did not linger there for too long.

Instead, Macarona hurried back to the security office and quickly checked the security feed from the other camera in the lobby. Though he didn't move away from the direction he was pointed in, she saw the edge of Leonidas' form standing near the front door and Cleopatra's shadow from the second floor, just right be the elevator door there. She then turned her attention to the basement television and checked the footage for any signs of Robin, finding the archer within a corridor by the pottery workshop as if she was either going inside or en route to the security office. Although she should've closed the doors right away, Macarona waited for a few moments and watched the animatronic look to its left at the pottery inside, wandering in to examine the ceramics there.

She checked the footage of the workshop and observed Robin's behavior closely, turning to the other cameras every so often to watch the others for a few moments. Leonidas and Cleopatra still hadn't moved from their positions, and Germain hadn't even woken up yet. Was he going to stay asleep all night? Had his programming just shut down completely if only temporarily? Though she wasn't sure, Macarona decided to keep the footage for the second floor on him only as she still could make out Cleopatra's shadow on the first floor lobby camera that hadn't been killed yet.

With the mage accounted for in addition to the other two, her only real concern right now was Robin. The archer displayed interest in what appeared to be new additions for the following week, so Macarona couldn't help but giggle at Robin's impatience. "Just can't wait for next week, huh?" she chuckled, closing her eyes briefly and opening them again to find the archer in the next corridor adjacent to the painting workshop where Robin stepped inside, looked around, and left. It was a pattern she seemed to be following, possibly displaying awe at the artwork or likely fooling Macarona into thinking that's what the animatronic was really doing.

Perhaps it was both as this trend continued until Robin saw everything and began to head towards the left door of the security office. Fortunately, Macarona heard her coming and saw it on the security feed when she checked the hallway, so she was quite ready to close that door. Getting up from the chair, she stepped over to the door and pressed the button to close it just as Robin came by for the switch. Pressing the light switch next, she saw the animatronic standing outside of the window and gave it a friendly smile. "Sorry," she apologized to the archer, "but you're not allowed to come in. I'm under orders not to let you leave the museum." She gave a sheepish smile with the apology in addition to a friendly wave as she left the lights on so Robin could watch her work. Macarona didn't mind so long as Robin stayed where she was. Though it gave her the feeling of being watched, she wasn't bothered since she knew who observed her. "You can stay there and see what I do if you want," she then said, turning to face the archer while also checking the time.

It had just turned three o' five. Only two hours and fifty-five minutes until six. That was the appointed time when her duty ended for the night as mentioned in the ad she read that morning. If she could make it to that point, she could finally go home and get well-deserved rest. Macarona had already come this far, so she was confident in her abilities as a night guard on the first night.

Unfortunately, it appeared her job was just going to get harder. Robin had left the spot by the door and headed back to the elevator as affirmed by the footage. At first Macarona thought she was going back up, but the elevator door opened to reveal Cleopatra standing there. First the archer, and now the healer. Two animatronics were down here, leaving the other two in the museum. With Leonidas still by the door and Germain dormant, Macarona had to deal with Cleopatra and Robin, both of whom proceeded through each of the workshops again to look at projects in development. Like with Leonidas, they made several movements as if they were talking to each other like normal people, possibly planning out a mode of attack. The left door to the security office was still closed, leaving only the right door accessible. Luckily Macarona had an infinite supply of power to rely on unless the generator keeping everything active was tampered with.

It was four twenty-seven now, and the two animatronics in the basement seemed to be in a peaceful mode for the moment. They had not budged from the jewelry workshop for a short while, and it was there Macarona noticed a large, steel shutter door out in the corridor. Although she had caught a glimpse of it before, it didn't register with her until this moment while the animatronics were in the room admiring the jewelry. Perhaps it was a storage unit, a space where they kept the pieces that were not on display yet. Maybe the animatronics also went in there sometimes.

Macarona felt a strong to check inside there, but there weren't any cameras monitoring the other side of that door unless one was being installed. She'd ask Xerxes about it when she saw him later. For now her primary concern was watching the animatronics. Leonidas must have gone into some sort of sleep mode as he hadn't left his current post and the same went for Germain too. Only Cleopatra and Robin concerned her, though Macarona could go all night with the doors closed as she had plenty of power to spare. It was likely only a matter of time until they did go for the only generator powering this location, yet the safeguards should have kept her position well protected.

By this point Robin and Cleopatra split up and made their way down separate corridors to the security office. Macarona knew they were coming and closed both doors in preparation, having opened the left door once Robin was gone so she could let more air into the somewhat hot office. There was a fan on the desk to circulate that air, so Macarona made good use of it when she turned the thing on after her arrival. It did make a droning noise, so the angel left the fan on a low setting to decrease the sound coming from it which enabled her to perceive the animatronics' footfalls a lot clearer than with the fan on full blast pointed right at her.

With both doors shut, she stood up and pressed the light switches to confirm the healer and archer were right outside the doors. Like with Robin's earlier visit, she gave each of the two a bit of a friendly wave and a smile before resuming her duty. "You girls are certainly persistent," she commented while sitting back to watch them stand there. "I admire your efforts, but I still can't let you both in." Macarona closed her eyes briefly and yawned, stretching her arms up in the air. She would allow them in had their programming not included that software making them hostile.

A short while later she looked at her watch and saw the time was now five thirteen. Turning back to the security feed, Macarona yawned again and just stared at the other animatronics on the screen. This was getting a little boring now that they were all mostly inactive, leading Macarona to the theory that their much friendlier systems were beginning to kick into gear very slowly. The guys never left the spots on which they stood, and neither did the girls for a while. They just stood outside the security office staring at the angel as she did her job. The first night went by almost in a flawless motion, despite the minor points brought up by all of the animatronics except Germain.

Eventually the clock finally read six o' clock a.m. and a bell in the office made a short, but moderately loud ding to indicate her job was over for tonight. Getting up to stretch, Macarona also yawned once more as she briefly observed Cleopatra and Robin shutting down for a few seconds before they both came back on. Seeing them in a peaceful setting as demonstrated when they gave amiable waves with their hands assured her their older software had powered down for the day. It must have been on battery power; that old hardware was certainly going to run out of fuel at some point, yet it could have been on the same system as the nicer settings.

In any case, Macarona opened the doors as they both approached her to examine her figure while she flipped the switch for the front doors. They were curious about her, certainly not the hostile attitude she was getting from them anymore as Cleopatra patted her on the head as if she was congratulating her on a good job. With a small giggle of appreciation, Macarona walked out of the security office with them in tow. "You sure were on your best attitude tonight," she remarked to them as they all headed to the elevator. "I'm impressed you were so well behaved."

Stepping inside with them, Macarona pressed the button and rode it to the first floor where she found Leonidas standing in the lobby, wondering around like he was in a confused state as to how he got there in the first place. "You killed that camera," she told him while passing by with Robin heading back to the painting wing as Cleopatra rode the elevator up to the second floor. "I have to inform the staff of that little incident so they can fix it. Just please be sure not to do it again, okay?" she then inquired as he went back to the pottery wing.

Turning to watch him leave, Macarona twirled around at the sound of the front doors being unlocked. They opened and an older demon with long blue hair and brown wings stepped in, attired in a military uniform much like the one Ms. Greif wore. "You must be the new girl," she said upon the sight of Macarona as the angel strode towards her. "Have any problems tonight?"

"Yes, I am the one who was recently hired for part time work just yesterday," Macarona answered as she took a quick look at the nametag on the demon's uniform which said her name was Crona, the museum's day guard. "There were not any serious issues tonight, Crona. Cleopatra and Robin came down to the basement, but I had no real problems with them and neither of the two caused much trouble aside from trying to get into the office. Unfortunately, Leonidas cut the wires to that camera," she explained, pointing to the camera damaged by the warrior's sword.

"I see…" Crona commented critically and paused for a few moments. "What of Germain?"

"He never activated," Macarona said as she yawned and then smiled sheepishly. "Sorry for that, it's been a long night for me and I should be getting home to rest. Please excuse me."

"Then by all means I shall not keep you any longer," Crona responded as she held the door open for Macarona. "Get on home and get some sleep, you deserve it for a job well done."

Bowing to show her gratitude, Macarona stepped out and turned back to the demon. "Thank you, Crona. Be sure to let Xerxes know about this past night, okay?"

"I shall inform him when he arrives in a little while, yes."

"Thank you," Macarona said with a bow of her head. "I shall be back later tonight to watch over the museum and the animatronics again. Have a good day," she finished speaking as she then sauntered down the stairs to the courtyard and crossed it to the gate. Although that phone call she received warned her against continuing the job, Macarona was still going through with it. She felt there was a mystery lurking within Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts, and now she was part of that mystery as a new player if only temporarily. "Oh, and by the way, I received a strange call from someone who used to be a former night guard," she called back when she was halfway across the courtyard. "Can you also ask Xerxes to call me back about that sometime this afternoon?"

"I shall, yes," Crona responded as she watched the angel go, observing her with a critical gaze through narrowed eyes. "Later tonight, eh?" she asked herself before closing the doors.

…

**Alright, that's it for the first night of **_Seven Nights at Clarabella's_**. It's not as exciting or scary as you might think, but I wanted to ease the story and Macarona into what shall be coming up soon. There will be more to come as the nights begin to get more difficult as more secrets relevant to the plot and lore will be uncovered in subsequent chapters. I've mentioned before in this chapter that Macarona will make an inquiry into Robin's backstory, so that will be the main focus of the third chapter. I'm still thinking about how to structure the next night so that the chapter covering it will be of the same length as this one or as close to it as possible, but I've got time to ponder that during the next chapter. I will say there is a specific gimmick I want to incorporate, one that you all might recognize as something similar to one of the animatronic characters from Five Nights at Freddy's.**

**If any of you have a good idea regarding who the mysterious caller Macarona heard from is, please keep that bit of knowledge to yourselves instead of voicing it in your reviews. Though it may not be that much of a secret concerning who it is, this character will have a much larger role to play as the story progresses, so I would appreciate it if you could stay mum on that and let the surprise and story run their course.**

**I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.**


	3. Chapter Three: Robin

Fluffy white clouds passed by in the sky overhead as yet another peaceful day unfolded in the Grey Garden. Children were out playing with one another, angels and demons talking amicably with each other as they all got along on this fine day. Everybody was outdoors for the most part, taking in the sunshine while going about their business; though some individuals were still indoors because of things like work or also due to just simply wanting to spend time inside interacting. It was like this throughout the Grey Garden; no conflicts weighed everyone down to prevent them from having a good time and enjoying each other's company with fear of angering the other side.

However, there was one individual in particular who was still very much asleep in her bed, and for once it actually wasn't Yosafire, one of the three most infamous overslept individuals aside from Raspbel and Etihw, of course. Surprisingly enough, this time it was Macarona who slept in, and she had a very good reason for doing so. Last night was her first time working as a part time night guard at Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts, an all-nighter which left her exhausted at the end of her shift. It was to be the very first of seven all-nighters with six nights left to go before she received a paycheck at the end of the week that would go towards that fundraising charity.

Some might think the job was boring, and they were correct to a certain extent. What they were also aware of somewhat was how dangerous the animatronics were at night. It was nothing more than a silly rumor to them, but Macarona went through the whole night and found more than an element of truth to it since the idea was based upon old programming in those very animatronic characters that were supposed to be kept inside so they didn't cause trouble. The software dated back to the war and it was constructed by Clarabella, an esteemed engineer in addition to being an artist. Every night that hardware programming would kick itself into gear and they would resume the old technological duties they used to fulfill during the war. And Macarona was the only one who could stop them from wreaking havoc by keeping the doors closed on them.

It must have been somewhere past one thirty when Macarona finally awoke, but a glance at her bedside clock told her it was actually a few minutes prior to that. Stretching her arms up in the air while yawning, the young angel got out of bed and left her bedroom, sauntering down the stairs just past the guest room with two beds and a bathroom. She stepped through the hallway and into the kitchen, going to the refrigerator and pulling out a couple of eggs and butter before heating up the stove. As Macarona pulled out a frying pan and placed it on a burner, her cell phone rang from its spot on the counter where it had been plugged in to charge. She picked it up and answered the call, noting that it was from her boss, Xerxes.

"Hello, this is Macarona speaking," she said her customary dialogue whenever she took a call and responded to it before Xerxes' voice came through from the other end.

"Hey, Macarona, what's up? Had enough sleep since last night?"

"Hello, Xerxes," she replied while cutting a slice of butter and dropping it onto the pan with a butter knife she pulled out from a drawer. "Yeah, I got a pretty good morning of rest."

"I have to ask," Xerxes then spoke up from his end, "because I spoke with you concerning the old programming in our animatronic characters. Did you have any bad dreams about them? If so, that's understandable due to the old hardware. I know it's not something one can get used to."

"Not at all, they were pretty tame last night despite their slightly aggressive behavior," she answered before adding, "though two of them did get into the basement while Leonidas took out a camera. Aside from those incidents, nothing much happened last night."

"Good, looks like you getting the hang of it," Xerxes remarked with a compliment. "I heard about that and made sure our technicians examined the sensors after the day guard informed us of that incident. We have also repaired the camera by the main doors and fit it and the others with a protective seal to prevent the wires from getting cut. By the way," he then continued as Macarona cracked her eggs and dumped the yolk in the pan while it cooked, "the day guard also told us that you received a call from a stranger over the phone, is that right?"

Nodding on her end, Macarona found the right opportunity to discuss the mysterious caller with him. "Indeed, there were a couple of odd things this person mentioned."

"Did this individual give you their name?"

"No," Macarona answered as she recalled last night's message, "but they did specify they used to be a night guard like me while also reiterating the same information you provided yesterday afternoon in addition to a couple other remarks."

"What were they?" Xerxes inquired.

"First this person said the animatronics attacked demons, which I kind of expected due to their programming, but I had not thought they would also assault angels as well since the hardware would dictate to them a mode of protection for angels," Macarona explained as her boss spoke up with his opinion on that particular matter.

"True, we've had other angels besides you in the same occupation. You're actually the first one since I assumed the curatorship about a week or so ago, but I am aware of others before me who have taken the job prior to my promotion. They and the demons who were assigned to the job or were hired for it became scared after a while and resigned after two or three nights. I guess the animatronics must have spooked them at some point, but I don't blame them considering the older software in the animatronics. The only night guard who is still with us is Crona because she put in a form to be reassigned as our day guard, but some of the former night guards do return from time to time as visitors. We even allow them down into the basement since they're part of the museum."

"Which brings me to the next point the caller brought up," Macarona proceeded with her line of inquiry. "I was also told that some of the night guards didn't have the luck necessary to pull through and that they weren't suffering anymore. From what that comment may have implied, I've interpreted it as meaning a few of the night guards died while on duty. Would you happen to know of anyone who was killed by the animatronics while working as night guards?"

"Not to my knowledge," Xerxes replied, "but I shall definitely look into that in about an hour and provide you with a list of the deceased when we next meet. I have some contacts within Blancblack Castle and around the Grey Garden in general, so something is bound to come up."

"Alright, thanks," Macarona said as she finished preparing some scrambled eggs. "One of the last things the caller told me to do was resign ASAP after the first night, but I'm staying on."

"If that's what you want, I won't stop you," Xerxes commented, "but you are free to speak with me about the subject and decide if you want to withdraw from the position later on. Anyway, I got to go now; I have a meeting with the other executives in a few minutes. Take care, Macarona."

"You too, Xerxes," Macarona said as she began to hang up while taking a plate out from one of the cupboards. "Goodbye." With the conversation over, Macarona put her phone back on the counter and put the charger in before setting her meal on the plate and bringing it to the dining room table where she ate in peaceful solitude reading the morning paper she picked up in front of her house as she arrived back following the first night at the museum.

There were around six hours of leisure time left to her for the afternoon and early evening, so Macarona made sure she was fairly busy in that time. Her first order of business was to shower and then go shopping for more food and bringing it home to put it away which would take about two hours or so. Then with four hours left, Macarona decided to pay a visit to Blancblack Castle and talk with Miss Grora about Robin. Something was drawing her into a strange web of intrigue associated with the museum. Although it was an assumption at best, Macarona believed there was more to Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts than met the eye.

Most of it was basic knowledge, really, stuff Xerxes already put forward to her and as much of the public as possible because he appeared to be willing to share any secrets he knew of while helping uncover more when necessary. However, what snared her interest was the odd phone call she received. It sounded like whoever this individual was clearly knew more about the mystery than what was being let on. Despite feeling that it wasn't her place to get too involved, Macarona felt she and many others were being left in the dark on purpose to hide something. That was why she believed it was necessary for her to make her own inquiries as well like a detective did to learn more about what was going on and why it was happening.

It might have been dangerous and it probably would not yield much, but Macarona needed something to occupy herself during the time she was not on the job. If this mystery was going to keep her busy, she might as well take the opportunity to learn about the museum by discovering who the key players were in its establishment. Who was Clarabella, and who were the angels who had animatronics built to honor them after their passing? Macarona had to admit, it sounded like it would be a fun affair despite the danger involved. Whether it really was a web of intrigue or just a simple desire to do research about Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts as a fun little project remained to be seen. Only her investigation would tell.

…

It was nearly three when Macarona was finally ready for what was left of the day ahead of her. She had just gone to the little shed outside her home to take her bicycle out and ride it to the food store. A small list was in one hand as she began to read off of it to confirm she had everything checked off. "Let's see…milk…eggs…lettuce…tomatoes…apples…that's everything." It wasn't the largest list she had, but Macarona usually went for what she needed instead of what she wanted. She was quite the frugal spender like her friends were, and it was something that rubbed off on her while learning how to balance a budget effectively in school, a lesson made fun since Mr. Lowrie was the teacher explaining the lesson. He was one of her favorite teachers at school in addition to Ms. Greif because their lessons were always so clear to understand.

Bringing her bike out the main path, Macarona got on it and put her feet to the pedals. The motion of them swinging in the air as she cycled was relaxing while en route to the food store. It was good exercise as Macarona made it a point to ride her bicycle everyday whenever possible if the weather wasn't bad enough to prevent her from enjoying the sport. Along the way she observed the interactions between others and looked up at the clear sky, watching clouds pass by above the Grey Garden. Smiling as she neared her objective, Macarona noticed a few kids younger than her signal for her to stop. She saw why as she got off the bike to move it around them so they could continue watching snails race. Macarona chuckled at the prospect of enjoying something so mundane, but it was more exciting than watching paint dry or grass grow. Those kids sure were happy because they were having a lot of fun with their activity as tedious as it was for something that didn't quite reach the level of softball or board games.

A few minutes later Macarona was entering the small lot in front of the food store and put her bicycle to a halt by the bike rack. Taking a chain from a pocket on the side of the back wheel, Macarona tied the bike to the rack before heading inside to get a basket when a familiar voice from behind called out her name. "Ah, Macarona," she heard the other girl say as Macarona turned to find Dialo coming up from behind her, "how are you today?"

"Good afternoon, Dialo," Macarona said as she waved hello to the demon. "I'm doing well. How about you? I didn't think I'd see you or the others out and about. Are you and Chelan finished for the day?" she inquired, somewhat curious as to why her friend was not at the library.

Dialo shook her head as she and the angel acquired a couple of baskets from a few stacks of them that were set up by the entrance. "No, we're still on duty. The little kitchen was running a bit low on food and the attendant assigned to the duty for today was preoccupied with some of the visitors, so I offered to go in her stead," she briefly explained before moving to a similar topic. "A more pressing matter would be your part time job, Macarona. How is that going, by the way?"

"It's alright," Macarona responded as the two of them walked together down an aisle. "I'm actually getting used to it as a matter of fact even though it's already been the first night. The job is fairly easy and simple to do, but I just need to stay awake so the animatronics don't cause issues."

"Yes, I've been meaning to inquire about that," Dialo admitted while they shopped. "I have thought about calling you this morning, but figured you would need to rest up from work. Are the animatronics in the museum truly harmless, or is there truth to the nonsense Yosafire and Rawberry were spouting yesterday? I ask only because I want to see if that hasn't scared you away from it."

"As a matter of fact, that rumor they brought up is most certainly true to some extent."

Dialo put an index finger to her chin and closed her eyes, evidently in deep thought since she was going to think about the matter. "Explain," she said casually, a habit her friends were quite familiar with since Dialo did like to analyze things from multiple perspectives. She was one of the smartest students in school, something Macarona admired in Dialo which she tried to emulate as best she could whenever possible. Sometimes she succeeded, sometimes she missed the obvious.

"Alright, sure, I can do that," Macarona said as she began her brief tale. "For starters, the animatronics used to be weapons based on actual angels in the war until it ended. They were made by Clarabella, an angel who served as an engineer besides being an artist from what I interpreted when I spoke with Xerxes, my boss. Their programming was altered to make them friendly during the day, but at night their old software from the war was preserved. Therefore they revert to their original programming after eight o' clock each night. Although Xerxes has looked into getting that software removed to make them safer, the previous curator whose family still owns them turned down the idea. Other angels and demons had issues when in the same position I am as I've heard from a strange caller last night, plus a few of them might have been killed by the animatronics. Xerxes said he'll get back to me on that. That about wraps it up so far."

Dialo remained silent for some time as they continued shopping. Macarona stayed silent to let her think in peace despite all the other sounds coming from throughout the food store. At one point the demon finally spoke up, saying only a single word at the moment. "Interesting…"

"So what do you think, Dialo?" Macarona inquired out of curiosity, wanting to know what her demon friend had come up with. "Anything you can analyze from that?"

"Just a bit, I'm afraid. You did cover much of it," Dialo said as they were just about done shopping. "From what I can gather, Clarabella either created those animatronics after the angels died so their service could continue even after their deaths. The previous curator must be descended from her which could explain why their old hardware is intact with the new software installed. As for their hostility, the animatronics are all angels which means only demons would feel their wrath unless the programming was designed to punish heretical angels for siding with demons."

Macarona nodded in agreement. "That was my assessment as well, though I hadn't thought of a piece in their programming determining whether they should punish heresy. Still, I expected it to some degree based on what I heard."

"Who was this caller, by the way?" Dialo then inquired as they both made their way to the checkout counter to pay for the food they were purchasing.

"I wasn't given a name, the person just mentioned having been a former night guard."

"Then it must be someone from inside the museum's faculty, an individual who held that position as well. Whether that person is still there or goes to visit the museum despite the obvious trauma are the only options I can think of concerning the caller's identity."

"Xerxes said that too," Macarona uttered as the demon went on to two other questions.

"What of the victims who perished? Were they present during his tenure as curator?"

The angel shook her head. "Nope, but that's what he is looking into."

Dialo sighed as they both finished paying for the food and exited the store. "I'm afraid that there isn't more to add since you've got everything accounted for so far. What will you do now?"

"I'll speak with Miss Grora about one of the animatronics who served in a scouting squad under her," Macarona said as she prepared her bike. "Hopefully she can tell me more about her."

"Well, good luck with your inquiry," Dialo said, waving goodbye to her while wishing her luck. "I hope your search comes to fruition at some point."

"Thanks!" Macarona called back as she rode off on her bicycle. "Good luck with your job as well, Dialo. I might come by sometime if I'm available."

…

The impressive walls of Blancblack Castle stood before her as Macarona sauntered up to the front doors, passing by various employees, angels and demons, on her way inside. Pushing the large front doors open and stepping aside to let a few of the workers exit the magnificent structure, the young angel then went over to a map on the wall presenting the various departments within the castle. There were several floors and many different departments dedicated to specific duties like administration, defense, economics, things like that. All topics that were pretty complicated for someone like her who only had a small, passing knowledge of each, so finding Alela Grora on her own without help would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, another angel came by to offer her assistance. "Excuse me, miss, how might I be of service to you today?" she inquired as Macarona turned to ask where Grora was and which department she might work in.

"Oh, I'm just looking for Miss Grora. Would you happen to know where I may find her?"

The attendant nodded. "Certainly, she is currently in the central garden watering the plants. It is just through those doors over at the center against the back wall."

Macarona bowed to show her appreciation. "Thank you, have a good day," she said while walking towards the doors she was pointed to as the angel returned the remark.

Stepping through the doors, Macarona looked up at the sky and then gazed in awe at the foliage surrounding her. The garden was truly a beautiful place, perhaps rivaling the cliff side she and Yosafire loved to hang out at with their friends. It was like a study in contrasts with flowers of all kinds both signifying the beauty of light and the attraction of darkness as if there was a light at the end of a shadowy tunnel or a shadow cast against the ground by the sun. All around there were plants and trees representing both sides to produce a horticultural landscape portrait in which the black absorbed the white that was also reflecting off of it like a ball bouncing on the ground.

This wasn't Macarona's first time here. She'd come to visit this garden several times to do some homework for school in peace when she felt in the mood for uniting the sense of an urban setting with rural horticulture. Each visit was truly breathtaking because the garden made seasonal adaptions much like Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts did by rotating foliage from a season out for more plant life relevant to the current season. That was why this place in the castle was yet another of Macarona's favorite spots to hang out in the Grey Garden.

As she walked along the cobblestone path built into the garden so people could walk around the location and admire it for the sheer beauty this garden espoused, Macarona caught wind of a voice from the other side of a hedge close by.

"Goddammit Ater, get the hell back here right now!" an angry lady shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice tinged with so much rage one didn't have to guess who it was.

From the sound of it, Grora was in mad pursuit of Ater yet again over what Macarona and many other inhabitants knew as an issue the angelic archer took to the extreme quite seriously. The problem in question was a past incident in which Ater accidently scratched out Grora's left eye, and the furious angel adamantly refused to forgive the cat demon for what she perceived was a grave offense. Nobody blamed her for feeling angry about the loss, but Ater really didn't do it on purpose and she apologized to Grora many times over while accepting the constant physical abuse she received from the angel on a daily basis every day.

However, there were occasions when she sometimes ran away from Grora because Ater was terrified of her, which was expected and understood considering the fact that Grora always gave the poor cat demon an extremely stern beating at the sight of her. Fortunately, Miss Etihw and Mr. Kcalb always stood up for Ater and Wodahs made frequent trips to them with Grora being dragged along in tow by her ear to receive lectures on how her misconduct completely went against the peaceful nature of the Grey Garden. Grora was also forced to apologize to Ater every time she beat her. Ater would accept the apology each time, but she knew Grora wouldn't change.

And this just so happened to be one of those occasions which Macarona suddenly realized she was unlucky enough to have walked into without knowing it until it was too late. Two cats, a white one and a black one, both of whom were Ater and Arbus, suddenly darted out from within the hedge beside her while she was walking. Caught off guard, Macarona suddenly cried out as she stopped short mid-step and accidently stumbled over her own feet when she tried to get out of their way. Luckily she managed to keep her footing and her balance as the two cat demons timidly raced up an oak tree in the garden and hid within its branches.

At the end of the hedge ahead of her, Macarona watched as Grora ran into view with her bow drawn and two arrows nocked to the string. The other angel's pigtails flapped in the breeze during her pursuit of the kitties, and she stopped her murderous rampage briefly only to look for them since they appeared to have escaped her wrath…for the moment, anyway.

Of course, being an expert archer, Grora instantly saw their hiding spot and flew up in the air before taking aim at the frightened girls at the sharp end of her arrows. "There you are, you little wretched curs…" she growled at them as she drew the string back. "Time to pay for my eye!" Grora then shouted while releasing the string to let her arrows fly, but fortunately Ater and Arbus reacted just in time to get out of the way as they both hopped back and changed into their humanoid forms still featuring the wings and tails of demons in addition to their cat ears.

Unfortunately, in doing so the two of them shrieked as they slipped on the branches and lost their balance, falling into a sunflower patch on the ground below with a loud thud. In that time Grora nocked two more arrows and repeated her previous motions when shooting the arrows at them. Yet again Ater and Arbus got away, this time believing their best hope of escape to survive the angel's attacks was to hide behind Macarona. Although Macarona didn't mind defending them, she wasn't too happy with the prospect of being used as a meat shield to fulfill that objective.

"Help us, Macarona!" the cat demons wailed in fright while Grora flew over, still in the air with two additional arrows from her quiver nocked in the bow. "Please save us! We'll do anything! Make her stop! Make her go away! Scary, scary, scary!"

"Don't even think about listening to them Macarona!" Grora retorted coldly, taking aim at Ater and Arbus while they cowered behind the younger angel in fright. "I've spent far too long in my life without my precious eye, and now I'll finally return the favor by taking theirs!"

"B-but I-I didn't even have anything t-to do with that!" Arbus protested, hoping her words would reach Grora's ears and appeal to her common sense.

"Fair enough," Grora uttered quickly as she moved both of the arrows together to aim only at Arbus' twin sister. Moments before they were pointed at both cat demons; now she only had her most hated enemy of all time in her sights: Ater.

Terrified at the thought of being abandoned to death by her only twin sister, Ater shrank back even further as her trembling became slightly uncontrollable. "W-what…? I-I said s-sorry, I-I…D-don't leave me Arbus!" she cried, tears pouring down her face.

"I won't go on without you Ater!" Arbus also cried, hugging her twin so hard that neither of them wanted to relinquish their grip on one another. What they didn't realize, however, was that Macarona was also in on their show of sisterly affection and could feel the life being choked out of her. She gagged at the sudden movement, not because of the bear hug, but rather due to getting suffocated in the cat demons' frightened embrace.

"Always together!" they squealed in unison. "Sisters together forever! Cross our hearts and hope to die!" If they thought the little chant was going to stop Grora, they were wrong as the angel then repositioned her arrows back where they were.

"As you both wish," she said coldly, her voice firm with conviction as she spoke. "You'll die as you lived, together in the grave." She pulled the string back, about to release it once again until a sudden hand gesture from Macarona cut her off. Although the other angel felt she couldn't maneuver effectively in the grasp of two frightened cat demons, Macarona managed to form a time out sign with her hands as she gasped for air in desperation, believing she might pass out soon.

"W-wait…" she wheezed, shivering much like Ater and Arbus, but without the inherent fear of getting sniped by Grora. "T-time out…D-don't I-I…" she paused to cough and gasp again, "get a-a…s-say in this?" Macarona was originally uninvolved in this dispute, yet the cat demons brought her into this unintentionally without her consent. It wasn't their fault really, but if she was going to help them, she needed to act as a proper mediator instead of being a meat shield.

"Absolutely not!" Grora retorted, oblivious to the condition Macarona was in just as much as Ater and Arbus were. "This isn't your fight, Macarona, so don't interrupt me when I'm furious with them!" Again she pulled the string back, this time intent on killing the cat demons.

"B-but…" Macarona tried to protest, but her voice died in her throat as her vision began to blur. It was getting harder for her to see because she was losing oxygen and couldn't take any more in since her body was being crushed in a massive bear hug between two other people. She was on the verge of fainting as her sight started growing darker, but luckily she felt released as the pressure on her body dissipated. Her mind couldn't fathom why or how exactly, but Macarona knew she was gently set down by a patch of flowers as a familiar voice addressed Grora in a strict tone, evidently displeased with her misconduct concerning Grora's attempt to murder his pets.

At first Macarona didn't know who it was since she was recovering from her near faint, but she gradually felt multiple things pressing against her chest twice at a time. Once the groggy spell was over with its veil lifted, she opened her eyes to find Arbus and Ater kneading her. They were both kneeling beside her on either side, smiling down at Macarona as she eventually sat up and blinked very rapidly, rubbing her eyes while groaning slightly. "Oww, that hurt," she muttered softly, taking deep breaths to take in more fresh air to better orient herself as the cat demons giggled and joined their hands together with wide grins spread across their faces.

"Yes, CPR success!" they cried out in joy, laughing happily as they embraced their friend in a much gentler hug than minutes ago and pressed their cheeks against Macarona's. They purred and cuddled up against her to thank her for distracting Grora long enough so Kcalb could intervene on their behalf. Macarona couldn't help but giggle as she put her arms around them to return the hug, grateful for their concern following what was likely a life threatening experience.

"Thanks girls, you really saved me," she complimented them, slightly exaggerating so Ater and Arbus could feel proud of their accomplishment. The two of them meowed happily in response and continued to purr as Macarona, having closed her eyes while hugging them, opened them to see Kcalb giving Grora a serious lecture on what would happen to her if she continued to hurt his cat demons. Despite not wanting to laugh at her, Macarona couldn't help but smile at how the situation was diffused before blood was spilled in the garden. She hoped the upset angel would understand the message behind the smile and not jump to the conclusion that it was an insult when it actually wasn't, but knowing Grora, she probably might infer that anyway.

"Now," Kcalb went on after giving Grora a stern reminder to behave properly, "since you have run through much of this garden and destroyed several of the flowers here, you shall now go over to the florist's and purchase more to replace them after digging the remains out. Do I make myself clear, Grora?" he finished, arms crossed across his chest as she hung her head in shame.

"Yes, sir devil," she uttered before walking over to some flowers until she turned around to face him again. "But they ruined part of the garden too, you know!" she yelled, pointing a rude finger towards the cat demons while glaring at them. "So go ahead and punish them too!"

"They only ran through part of a hedge," Kcalb said as-a-matter-of-factly, "which was due in no small part to you pursuing them with your bow drawn. I shall not repeat myself again, Grora: dig out what you ruined, go to the florist's, and replant everything, understand?"

"You do the crime," Ater quipped.

"You do the time!" Arbus finished for her.

"You reap," Ater started another joke.

"What you sow!" Again, Arbus completed the joke.

"Yeah, yeah…" Grora muttered under her breath as she headed off. "You both suck…"

Not wanting to miss her chance to inquire about Robin, Macarona leaned forward to call her name as Kcalb stepped over to her and extended a hand out to help her up. "You alright?" he asked in a much nicer tone than when he was lecturing Grora, but it still possessed the same aloof nature that was inherent in Kcalb's way of speaking. "Sorry you had to be a part of that."

"Yeah, sorry," Ater and Arbus parroted apologetically as they each made a fist to playfully bat at strands of Macarona's hair which swayed softly in the wind.

"It's alright, Mr. Kcalb, I'm fine," she remarked, gently taking their hands away from her hair. "I didn't mind, really. I'm glad to have been of at least some help if that was possible."

"Well, you did distract Grora long enough for me to get here and stop her," Kcalb said as he pulled his pets off her and motioned for them to run off, "so I should also thank you for that."

"You're welcome," Macarona said with a bow of gratitude, "and thank you for getting here so quickly. I was afraid I might die of suffocation."

"It's no problem, Macarona," the devil politely waved the appreciation aside as he accepted it nonetheless. "Now tell me, what brings you here to the castle today? I heard from Froze that you took a job as the night guard for Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts, so I assumed you would still be resting from last night's work at this time."

Macarona nodded to validate his statement. "Yes, indeed, that is what I'm doing part time over spring break. I got enough sleep today, so I decided to spend a bit of time looking into some history regarding the museum and its animatronic characters. Miss Grora may know something about the character I'm inquiring into today, which is why I came here."

"Ah, I see," Kcalb commented blankly. "I know of the animatronics, yes. Etihw once took me there—well, she more or less dragged me by force—but the semantics aren't important. If you want to ask Grora about one, I believe you're referring to the archer. Robin is her name, correct?" he asked as Macarona nodded again to confirm his guess. "There are plenty of Robins in the Grey Garden, and there were also others during the war as well. Some of them may have served in the angels' army, a few might have even known Grora and fought with her."

"The plaque for Robin at the museum did say she served with Grora on a scouting mission until she heroically led away several legions of demons," Macarona said, bringing up what she knew so far. "I wanted to know more about who the animatronics were made to honor them. First I want to know about Robin since her trail is the closest I know of."

"Saving her squad from legions, eh?" Kcalb remarked as he shut his eyes and closed the fingers on his left hand, save for the index and middle fingers as he placed them against his chin. "That rings a small bell, so I probably know a little something about that. If I heard more I might be able to offer a bit of aid to your investigation."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Macarona said, bowing in appreciation again as Grora came up with some dead flowers in her arms which she proceeded to drop on the ground before them while a bit of sweat trickled down her forehead from the work she was just about done doing. All that was left were a few more spots and it was off to the florist's with her. Grora could have used a bit of rest, but Kcalb punished her with an order for her misconduct and she had to fulfill it dutifully.

"What's this about a Robin?" she inquired, wiping dirt, soil, and mulch off her hands.

"Macarona is looking into the origins behind Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts and the animatronic characters there," Kcalb explained to her. "She wants to learn more about Robin, an angel who worked an assignment with you when the war was still on."

"Oh, that Robin!" Grora exclaimed as her final memories of an old acquaintance emerged to the surface of her mind. She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, accidently getting soil in it with Grora unaware for the moment because she was lost in nostalgia. "How long has it been? Too long I reckon since I last saw her…" she muttered to herself, a small smile spreading across her face as she bathed in her recollection of one who seemed to be an old friend. "Yeah, I knew of her. Robin was one of the best scouts in Lady Etihw's forces at the time. Always an aloof girl, that one, hardly letting anyone in despite coming across as a welcoming soul. Robin had a very cheerful disposition for someone who preferred the solace of solitude, claiming that silence was golden as it helped one focus and keep their eyes on the target. I miss her a lot."

"Sounds like you two were very close, Miss Grora," Macarona remarked as the other angel surprisingly shook her head in response before proceeding.

"No, she and I were in the same unit for only a few missions. Nothing too spectacular, but I enjoyed observing her as Robin interacted with the others and fought with them. Robin usually moved to other squads from time to time since she always requested to be reassigned so she could help end the war at a faster pace. What amazes me is how calm and collected she always was even in the heat of battle. She was quite a master of organizing her thoughts and adapting to alterations in the flow of combat whether we gained the upper hand or were at a disadvantage. Robin hardly had any associates among us, and even Lady Etihw herself found she was also excluded from the archer's social life which upset her quite a bit, so Robin's list of contacts was surprisingly limited."

"Were you among them despite serving together only on occasion?" Macarona then asked as Grora shrugged, closing her eye with the small smile still on her face.

"Somewhat, but we never sought each other out. I was her superior in status and ranking, but her skills exceeded mine. Whenever we were together, the two of us would always co-lead in our squad and split into two groups to get things done by covering more ground. Hers was always finished before mine because her genius mind would construct a foolproof plan that always went off perfectly. I'll admit, I made several blunders on more than one occasion, but she didn't blame me for any sort of incompetence. Robin always said that failure was an obstacle to success, one in necessity which would help others improve their own skills."

"What about any other contacts?" Macarona inquired next. "Was one of her associates an angel by the name of Clarabella, the original proprietor of the museum?"

Interestingly enough, that got an affirmative response from Grora. "Yeah," she began while nodding her head, "Robin worked for most of the time, but all of her free time was spent in what used to be the original structure for that place. She once told me it brought her peace and she also enjoyed admiring the artwork. That girl was definitely an excellent example of the beholder in the notion that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I heard she got into Clarabella's good graces and was given special permission to check out sections not permitted for the public. Once she produced a poem about the museum and Clarabella put it up for display in the main lobby. In fact, I would say Robin and Clarabella were close friends, closer than anyone else we knew of."

"I see…" Macarona uttered before proceeding to another matter concerning Robin. "Then came the fateful day when Robin sacrificed herself to save you and the other angels in your squad."

Grora's face darkened at this as Macarona realized she hit a sour chord and attempted to apologize for it, but the other angel spoke up first. "No, she and I were the only survivors at that point. Our mission was going so well until I made an incalculable mistake and cost us the whole squad. She simply told me to flee when I was too injured to fight and deliver the message of our defeat to Lady Etihw while she drew them off in another direction." Tears suddenly appeared in her eye as she related this terrible memory to Macarona. "I screwed up and cost us the life of one of our best scouts and the lives of several other angels, and I wasn't punished for it aside from the guilt that demonstrated how I failed big time because I was so foolish."

Macarona just stood there in silence for several moments before tipping her head down in shame after having forced Grora to relive those final tragic moments of Robin's life. "I…I'm sorry, I…I didn't mean to bring up something painful to you."

"No, it's quite alright," Grora reassured her even though she made no attempt to wipe away the tears. "That's all in the past now, so we can only live for the present, the peace our respective people have established so that there will be no more death, no more war." Her eye was still shut, but Grora was suddenly caught off guard when Kcalb actually wiped away her tears.

"Don't cry," he said, his voice still maintaining its aloof tone while also sounding sweet as well. "I'm sure she wouldn't want you to." Grora looked down at the ground, a tear dropping down onto a broken flower as the devil continued to speak. "If it's any sort of closure, the demons under me at the time informed me they couldn't locate her in their search."

Grora looked up at him, feeling a sense of hope rising within her, a warmth that she thought was a sign Robin could've been alright. It was a longshot since Robin could still be somewhere out there in another world if possible. "T-then…is she…" Her words struggled to come out, though seeing the look in Kcalb's eyes showed her that it probably wasn't possible for Robin to be alive.

"I'm sorry, Grora," he apologized softly. "After Etihw and I made peace we and our people searched high and low for anyone missing in action. We've recovered the remains of many, save for some including an archer named Robin. I believe she is the one you are referring to."

"You remember her, Mr. Kcalb?" Macarona inquired as he nodded.

"Now I do even though I've never laid eyes on her, though I only know of what had been reported to me and the search afterwards. Eventually Etihw lost hope on her and decided to call off the search for Robin even though she was one of the only MIAs left. It was a hard decision for her to make because she felt she had failed those we couldn't locate, and an even harder one for me because I felt guilty about all the losses I caused. Even now we're both still guilty, but leads were hardly found since then and there weren't any clues as to any of their whereabouts. It's as if Robin just vanished into thin air like some of the others, so whether she may still be alive or not is really left up to the whims of fate to decide and reveal whenever possible."

Grora's head was still tipped down in shame. While Kcalb's remark that the demons didn't kill her offered some comfort, the fact remained that an old associate she wasn't too close with, but still liked all the same, was missing like so many other angels and demons that were possibly lost to both sides forever. It wasn't the best outcome, but at least she could hope for some sort of discovery that could provide her with much better closure.

Seeing her discomfort at the direction this conversation went in, Kcalb placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Go on and get some rest to sort out your feelings," he told her. "Give Robin more thought if you wish. I'll have other gardeners finish cleaning the mess and head to the florist's myself. Just take some time off for now, alright?"

Grora didn't respond verbally, but a mere nod of her head acknowledged she understood the command given to her. Though she would've preferred to continue working as a way to honor Robin, Grora knew there was truth in the devil's words as she slowly walked to the doors. She left in complete silence, mentally asking all the angels who died because of her for their forgiveness despite feeling she didn't deserve any of it even though they would have forgiven her.

Macarona and Kcalb watched her off before the devil turned back to her. "Does that satisfy your inquiry, Macarona?" he asked as Macarona sadly nodded in response.

"It does…but I didn't want Grora to feel sad for losing an old acquaintance of hers." Her voice was soft as she spoke, but the devil merely closed his eyes and nodded.

"I understand it wasn't your intention," he then said, opening them again. "It is a painful topic, yes, but at the very least she doesn't have to keep her emotions bottled up. It's good for her to have gotten this off her chest. Grora hardly talks about her failures from the war, so opening up about it can help her get through some tough times of her past." Kcalb sighed in relief, glad that the angel finally talked about it despite beating herself up over the blunders she made. He hoped she would find closure soon. "Anyway," he proceeded to another topic, "not to change the subject, but you've already cleared one night at your new part time job, correct? Someone who knows your boss told me the animatronics there are dangerous due to old software implemented during the war that made them into weapons of destruction. Have you felt threatened by them at all?"

"They tried to come after me, yes," Macarona responded, "but I survived the night okay. I was actually quite prepared for them to be honest, and I was only concerned with just two of them. The other two did not come by the security office down in the basement, plus there are safeguards in place to ensure I'm alright while preventing them from escaping. I shall be heading back there tonight for my next shift since I want to protect the Grey Garden by keeping them locked inside."

Kcalb crossed his arms and nodded in agreement with her decision. "That's very noble of you considering the danger you're placing yourself in. If you need any help, don't be afraid to ask. You're welcome to come speak with Etihw, Wodahs, and I about it. And Macarona," Kcalb said, placing a hand on Macarona's shoulder to offer some encouragement. "Do your best and come out of this unscathed, okay?" he asked as Macarona nodded in response.

"Yes sir, I'll do my job to the best of my abilities and protect our world," Macarona pledged to him despite not being an employee of Blancblack Castle. Still, she was one of the four main heroines of the Grey Garden from Ivlis' invasion, so Macarona felt a strong urge to fulfill this duty straight to the letter as she said goodbye to Kcalb and went home. Her inquiry about Robin was now finished even though it hurt Grora's heart, and she felt one step closer to uncovering the truth which she would let Grora in on to give her the closure she desperately needed.

Although her actual motive for the investigation was simply pure interest in the history of Clarabella, the museum, and those animatronics, Macarona realized there was likely a mysterious secret hiding behind the place—something old and forgotten not disclosed to the public. It drew her in when she received that mysterious phone call last night, probably because the person, a previous night guard, wanted other night guards like them to unite. Perhaps that was why she felt the need to participate in this little movement just as something to do for a group that hadn't even been formed yet. Even so, this certainly did make for quite an interesting conspiracy theory.

…

**Well, that wraps up the third chapter and now it's on to the second night. I've put more thought into it and have a good idea of how I want to proceed with it now. The gimmick I mentioned previously in the author's notes last chapter shall be implemented, but it shall also be improved upon so as to fit the lore behind this story. I said before that the gimmick will be a reference to a specific animatronic character from Five Nights at Freddy's, and I'll reveal which one in the next chapter's author's notes. You'll probably have already guessed who that is by now, so I won't keep you waiting any longer for the answer. Just be patient for a short while longer until the second night is up; you'll have the answer then. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoy writing it.**


	4. Chapter Four: The Second Night

Clarabella and Robin. Two close friends among the angels who shared a passion for art, and now one of them was gone forever, lost to time and all who knew her. Macarona assumed the other had died too, buried somewhere within the cemetery just on the outskirts of the village. The two of them left behind respective legacies: Robin, her courage and skills; Clarabella, her art and engineering. Together they both complimented one another. The latter honored the former with an animatronic in the archer's image so all could remember her and the sacrifice she made.

As Macarona finished spreading the jelly on the second of her two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, her attention averted to a sheet of paper she brought into the kitchen from her personal study, a room she often used for leisurely reading or some homework. On it was a web outline she drew with three circles constructed to form it, but Macarona believed more would be added later on in her investigation. So far she had the center circle filled with Clarabella's name and another to the lower left with Robin's. A line connected the two together which were also connected to the museum baring its title, Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts, in the third circle farther down.

This was a puzzle and she already had three pieces in her grasp. Among the three circles that were already there, Macarona picked up the pencil by the paper and added three more next to Robin's circle, filling each with the names of the remaining animatronics. If the archer was one piece, the others could also be acquainted with Clarabella. It was a theory at this point, so Macarona put question marks by their names as she added them to the web and connected each to Clarabella.

After quickly returning it to the study down the hall, Macarona returned to the kitchen and washed her hands before setting a slice of bread down on her second sandwich. Packing it in the lunchbox, she then went to get her cell phone and pulled it out of the charger before stuffing it in her pocket and then taking her lunchbox. Heading back out into the hall, Macarona sauntered over to the front door and opened it to step through the threshold and out into the warm, though slightly chilly air. A thick fog blanketed the Grey Garden as she walked down the path in front of her house to the main path and started walking over to the museum.

Although it was still only seven thirty, children were not out playing at this early time of night because of the fog. Macarona could still barely hear them as she passed by a few homes, but aside from that the walk over to Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts was strangely eerie. _"This is a great genius loci setting,"_ Macarona silently admitted to herself amidst the silence hanging over the Grey Garden just like this fog. It was almost like something out of a ghost story, one about someone like her out all by herself in the night with something else following in her footsteps. She giggled softly to calm her nerves, feeling like this was one of Rawberry's scary stories. Macarona could definitely imagine the pink haired demon relating this to everyone after night had fallen to scare them by regaling everyone with a good horror story. Who knew? Perhaps Rawberry was in fact sharing one with the others right now at this very moment while enjoying her sister's cooking.

Leaves crunched under her feet with each step Macarona took as she finally found the main gate several minutes later and walked through it. Crossing the courtyard, she looked up at the lights in the stained glass windows and saw a shadow pass by one of them. Again, she thought it was one of the employees including Xerxes just like last night. There wasn't any reason to suspect anything other than them even though the chilling atmosphere of tonight suggested otherwise. Sighing to herself in exasperation, Macarona stood up straight as a gentle breeze blew against the skirt of her green sailor uniform. "I'm not scared," she whispered softly with her eyes closed briefly to soothe her nerves. "It's just the atmosphere and nothing more. That can't harm me," she said bravely.

Once that faint sense of trepidation passed, Macarona resumed her pace up to the stairs and ascended to the porch before entering the doors. Seeing Xerxes beckon her over with a flashlight, Macarona sauntered over to her boss as he spoke up to greet her. "Good to see you in person again, Macarona. Are you prepared for tonight?" he asked as she nodded in response to his inquiry before giving a verbal answer to show him she was confident in her abilities.

"Yep, I'm all set for tonight, though there was one thing I forgot to ask before."

"Which is?"

"There is a shutter door near the jewelry workshop," Macarona explained briefly. "Does it lead to storage space for artwork? I saw it on one of the cameras and was wondering if there was a camera for that area as well. I didn't see anything from it on the other cameras."

Xerxes nodded as he began to answer her question. "Indeed, we use that area for storage. We were in the process of installing security cameras in there today and have wired the whole set to a separate television for the storage unit, so you'll have an additional five cameras to watch for tonight onwards. One is in the hallway and the others are for each respective space containing the works from each section and workshop of the museum. The lights in that area are already off and the door is locked, so you won't really need to check the security feed that often; just a couple of times to make sure nothing is moving in there and you're good to go."

Macarona caught the vague meaning behind that last statement and immediately questioned it. "Why? Is there something in that part of the museum I should be concerned about too?"

"Very perceptive. I like that," Xerxes complimented her acute sense of quick observation. "In a way there might be. Our employees and I on more than one occasion had a feeling of being watched sometimes while working. It started happening quite recently in fact, but we attributed it to natural phenomena than some kind of—how do I put it?—suspicious, spiritual activity. Still, we can never be too careful and today the executives and I decided to put cameras there and inform our staff to be on the lookout for anything weird going on. As you're the part time night guard, we included you in our faculty as well even though you'll be finishing the job at the end of the week."

Perhaps this was a good moment to bring up a couple odd moments from the first night. "I have experienced two strange occurrences last night," Macarona said as she began to describe what happened. "First I heard something from upstairs after I finished turning off the first floor lights and the lights in the elevator flickered momentarily as I was returning to the basement."

"The staff found themselves in similar circumstances," Xerxes agreed. "I would have told you yesterday, but I thought nothing of it since it didn't sound too serious at the time since it was small stuff, really. Nothing escalated beyond that as of yet, but I apologize for keeping you in the dark on that," he said as she nodded in understanding.

That didn't sound too bad, so Macarona was fine with that.

"Same here," she remarked as Xerxes reached into his pocket to get something. "I'd have thought the same thing too since I believed it was a tree brushing against a window along with the elevator lights running out of power. That was my first impression of it."

"Right, we should be extra vigilant in our duties here at the museum," her boss agreed with the assessment. "We must be prepared to debunk this phenomena if possible. I certainly wouldn't want to be the curator of a haunted museum nobody wants to visit out of fear of any ghosts roaming the establishment," he laughed while handing her a badge with her name on it and the job listed as well in addition to a key for the museum and a folder. "By the way, I had these made for you. Although you're not part of our daytime faculty, you're still a member of the staff despite being a part time night guard no one ever sees during the day. If I'm not here, use this key to get in and lock the door. Also, here is the list of former night guards for your perusal like I said before."

"Thanks," Macarona commented as she accepted the badge and pinned it to her shirt while pocketing the key and taking the folder. "It would be a shame if this place did close down due to rumors of ghosts. There are already rumors of the animatronics that were proven true; we wouldn't want more piled on there, do we?" she inquired, hoping to lighten the mood.

Xerxes laughed with Macarona at her sense of humor. "We sure don't!" he added before moving on to another matter. "Also, one another thing I want to make note of is the missing footage from last night. Someone took the footage home with them, and I suspect it's one of our workers."

"Missing security footage?" Macarona inquired as this new detail came to light. "Someone stole the tapes from last night?" She knew it wasn't her and could try to prove it as best she could, but luckily Xerxes spoke up about it once again.

"Right, like I said, a member of the staff must have taken it. You're in the clear because of a password we use to remove the tapes from the monitors, one which is only known to myself and the executives. The five of us all have alibis concerning our locations at the time the footage went missing, so I suspect another employee went into one of our offices and found it there. However, I will not press charges because the only motive I can think of is that the person wants to examine the footage further. I am curious as to who it is and what they might glean from the tapes; whatever is on those tapes might have gone unnoticed when the executives and I watched it earlier today."

"When did they go missing?"

"We checked the footage this morning and found nothing odd so far. The tapes were then taken sometime after we looked at them," Xerxes explained. "We probably missed something in our earlier observations, so the worker probably just wants to double check for us. Anyway, sorry for cutting this conversation off at this point, but I really need to navigate my way home through this fog. I don't want to worry my daughters by being late for dinner. They get mad whenever I miss time at the family table, especially when they're cooking the food."

"That's quite alright, I understand," Macarona said as she walked to the elevator. "Have a good night, Xerxes," she then remarked as he returned the comment while she pressed the button to open the elevator and step inside. Her first stop was the second floor where she briefly greeted Germain and Cleopatra before turning off the lights. Up next was the first floor where she repeated the same process of greeting Leonidas and Robin. "I spoke with Miss Grora today," Macarona said as she walked up to the archer, "she misses you dearly and blames herself for your death and the deaths of all the others from that mission. I hope you can rest easy and for her to have closure."

And with that, she turned off the lights and entered the elevator again to head down to the basement where she once again turned off the lights before going to the security office. Macarona placed her lunchbox and the folder down by the fourth television set added to the office and flipped through the rooms beyond the shutter door. The large hallway was there in addition to each storage unit for the separate wings and workshops for each museum. There was an office at the end of the hall with words on the glass reading "Records of Artwork." That must have been where the staff kept files and other documents regarding the pieces on display and in preparation. Although there wasn't a camera for the room, Macarona could clearly see if there was any suspicious activity in there because she could make out the shadows of shelves in there.

She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and checked it for any messages, realizing that the phone was left on vibrate and remembering that it was like that before because she left it on a nightstand next to her bed while she was sleeping earlier that day. Several text messages were from Rawberry, Yosafire, and Froze, all inquiring how she did on her first night. One in particular came from Froze at the bottom of the list, simply informing her that Dialo told them all about it during a small get together over apple pie at around five o' clock. That saved her time from having to text all three of them back at once, which also reminded her to check the time on her watch.

It was seven forty-seven, and Macarona was just thirteen minutes away from the eight o' clock schedule when the animatronics owned the museum. With some time to spare, she walked over to a vending machine out in one of the hallways and got a granola bar as a little snack to feast on for the moment since she had a very light dinner before leaving home. Still looking through her messages and voicemail, finding a few spam calls from telemarketers, Macarona's eyes widened slightly as one missed call in particular caught her eye. Retrieving the granola bar from the vending machine as she skimmed over the number, she sauntered back to the security office just as one of the lights out in the hall started flickering briefly. Macarona heard it amidst her concentration on the number and supposed it was either natural or an indication of spiritual phenomenon, but it did not register with her completely at the moment because she was focused on the missed call.

The number displayed on the screen was the same number as the call from last night, and it was also made at the same time too: seven thirty. Wondering what this previous night guard was going to say now, Macarona pressed a button on her phone to play the call.

"_Hello? Hello, are you there again? Are you even listening to these calls? It's the second time I'm calling you about your job and you're still not answering the phone. Have you gone daft or something? I warned you to stay away and quit the job, but you had to go ahead and give it one more attempt. You're seriously going through the entire week, aren't you? You have one hell of a death wish, my friend, and chances can be slim to none for your survival. Leonidas was like that; always running straight into combat for glory on behalf of his allies and friends. It's a shame that one was the last of his family, so no more heritage for him unless everything was left to associates of his. Take my advice and don't repeat his mistake even though his was for an honorable cause. Just go resign tomorrow morning and get out of there; it's the best choice you've got."_

Macarona could hear the other night guard sigh on the other end for a moment before the call continued. Evidently this person sounded irritated that she was continuing this shift.

"_Sorry for getting antsy at you there, but you've got to understand that simply taking the job poses a big risk towards your life, especially on your second night there. Remember all of the other victims I mentioned speaking to last night? Two common patterns came up when I talked to them: Germain did not activate on their first night and they felt other presences in the museum on the second night. In other words, things are going to be getting more difficult for you tonight, and the difficulty is only going to keep increasing with each night you're there."_

So other night guards did not experience problems with the mage on their first night. It was only the other three when they woke up. The sound of additional presences in the museum seemed to suggest there were others too, possibly animatronics which were unknown even to the faculty or actual ghosts. Macarona shuddered slightly at this latter thought, pondering if there was truth to it. Maybe they were spirits of night guards slain by the animatronics, or perhaps they were much older than that. Could they have been ghosts of the angels the animatronics were constructed to honor, and did they possibly include Clarabella?

"_One last thing I want to point out before I hang up and let you finish your job—hopefully it will be the end of it for you with your life intact. I mentioned that Leonidas ran headfirst into the fray, so you'll need to close those doors as soon as you hear him sprinting towards the office. Trust me, you're going to want both of those doors shut tight to prevent him from rushing back and forth to each side. Just remember to close the first door he comes to and immediately shut the second one afterwards. He'll understand you won't allow him into the security office to attack you. Always keep one of the cameras on him so you can observe what he does and be prepared for him."_

Okay, so keep both doors closed for Leonidas if he tried to rush her. Macarona understood that quite well and would follow that advice straight to the letter.

"_Don't worry about any other animatronics that might be in the basement, I'm sure you'll hear them walk to your location. Still, it might be best to just keep both doors closed all night; however, it's not recommended because you'll probably run out of fresh air. The vents in the ceiling are pretty dirty and haven't been cleaned yet, so don't rely on those for air. Speaking of which, I know Robin may occasionally climb up into the ventilation shafts and try to ambush you from above. She does not do it often as it is a rare occurrence, but the other victims I spoke to haven't said anything about her doing it for the first and second nights. Even so, take care to watch the vent up in the ceiling and just shine the flashlight in Robin's eyes. I heard her system has one glitch that forces her to retreat when a small light like the flashlight is in her eyes."_

Again, another great tip to be mindful of. Although the archer probably wouldn't do it—as Macarona found it hard to believe one of the animatronics could get into a ventilation shaft—she still had to be cautious about that vent above her. Macarona looked up and watched the vent for a few seconds as the other night guard began to finish the call. The fan was on, but Macarona could still feel small bits of air from above. She also heard another fan in there as well circulating the air inside the ventilation shaft, though it seemed to not be that effective in a filthy vent. Macarona had some hope the staff would get around to cleaning it eventually.

"_Well, that's all I have to say for tonight. Again, I really hope you'll resign tomorrow. It'll save your life so you don't have to waste it on this horrible job. Good luck and take good care of yourself. You'll need it badly to make it through another night."_

That was it as the call ended while Macarona hit the switch for the front doors to lock them.

She was still unsure of what to make of it, but she held onto the call in her voice mail just like the previous call from last night. It could still be useful at a later time.

She looked at her watch and noted it was just eight minutes to eight. Just a little bit longer and the animatronics would start to activate. "Perhaps I'll take a brief tour of the workshops while I wait," Macarona said to herself as she left the security office again and walked down the corridor to the painting workshop. Turning the lights on for a few moments while she looked around, the young angel examined each of the pieces carefully, taking note of a portrait portraying Robin, the archer from the same wing upstairs on the first floor.

It was a beautiful portrait, one obscured by the camera's angle because it didn't show this wall the painting was attached to. The painting had a forestry background and featured the archer in her grace shooting a constant rain of arrows unto her enemies as the long, blue haired ponytail swayed in the cool breeze of a starry night sky. "Wow…" Macarona marveled at Robin's skill and handiwork with the bow. "You're quite the natural. I'm sure Miss Grora would love to have learned how to shoot a bow from a master like you." Although she turned around to go shut the lights off, Macarona let a small smile spread across her face at the thought of Robin thanking her.

From there she went straight to the sculpture workshop to admire the pieces while noticing another painting on a wall that, just like in the other workshop, was out of the camera's range of sight. Cleopatra was the figure of the portrait which showed her at work healing the angelic soldiers wounded by the demons in the midst of fighting. There were other healers like Cleopatra, but she alone stood out because of the white light emanating from the crystal orb on her staff. Arrows and missiles coming from bows and siege weapons wielded by the demons were heading right towards her, but the heroic Cleopatra remained undaunted as she strode forward on the battlefield to save the lives of her fellow angels. "I admire your courage to head into battle like that," Macarona gave her a compliment as she turned off the lights and moved to the pottery workshop.

She repeated the same pattern of looking at the art and heading to the painting of Leonidas. He was shown on the front lines on the portrait's left side facing off against demons on the right who were led by Cranber, the ancestor of Rawberry and Raspbel, both of whom were reincarnated from her besides being descendants. Leonidas had his sword drawn and Cranber merely watched her opponent and licked her chops, wanting to literally sink her teeth into the warrior and have a bite of him. He looked like a great snack in the demon's perspective, but Macarona giggled at the thought. "Watch out, Cranber, this snack can fight back and give you heartburn," she joked as she left and turned off the lights before making her way to the final workshop for the jewelry.

Like with the previous workshops, Macarona gazed upon the constructed necklaces, rings, and whatnot before averting her attention to the painting of Germain. This one showed the mage at his home, sitting at a table by a garden of exotic plants with a set of alchemical apparatuses on the table. The window by Germain was open, revealing a bookcase lined with several old tomes. The sky was clear without any clouds, and it served as a great comparison to the slightly darker hue of the live ocean. A lighthouse was perched atop a cliff in the distant background with a large, tundra coastline bordering along the edge of the sea.

The setting was supposed to give off a feeling of peace, though the sensation Macarona received seemed darker for whatever odd reason and she didn't know why. Perhaps it was the glare from Germain's eyes which could have implied a foreboding sense of dread, but that was just her interpretation, really. His gaze was probably cold, though maybe it was painted like that to present him as an intelligent man of academia and magic science. Although Macarona wanted to provide a comment like with the other paintings, she believed a simple nod of her head to acknowledge his work while he concentrated was sufficient enough for Germain.

The moment she turned around, however, made a small part of her in the back of her mind regret turning her back on him. Macarona felt a chill go down her spine as the temperature suddenly became very cold and icy, almost like a wintery breath passing through her body. She shivered as she went over to a thermostat to check the temperature and was surprised to find it had not changed. That was when everything felt normal, but Macarona whirled around several times to investigate her surroundings. Nothing was out of place, so she sheepishly shrugged. "Nerves I guess, eh heh," she said nervously as she shut off the lights and returned to the security office.

It was already eight o' clock now and the animatronics were just starting to wake up. Robin and the other two, Leonidas and Cleopatra, were now up and running on their old operating systems while Germain was still asleep. Like her first night on the job, Macarona watched as the first floor characters got together and walked around the museum, making conversational motions just like real people the same way they did last night. It was amazing how they reverted to this kind of small talk amongst each other since they really were based on real angels from the war. For a moment a somewhat creepy thought occurred to Macarona regarding their attitude. What if the animatronics were possessed by the spirits of their actual representations in life? Could that be a possible theory to explain their odd behavior at night when they became aggressive to others?

"No, that can't be right," she chuckled softly. "There is no way their spirits are causing the programming to switch back." Macarona took a bite of her sandwich as she noted the time which went by like clockwork. Three and a half hours had passed and she saw no need to check the other cameras in the basement since all of the animatronics were in the museum's upper floors.

As another half hour passed, she watched them continue to move about until Leonidas and Robin went into the elevator. Preparing herself for their imminent arrival, Macarona switched the basement camera in the sculpture workshop over to the elevator since she learned by now that she could see the light from the elevator in the corridor when it opened. Surprisingly enough, it actually opened on the second floor and they both stepped out. "What are you two up to?" Macarona asked as if they were right beside her while the animatronics walked into the jewelry wing where their fellows were already located. She pressed a button on the second floor television and observed the two associates walk up to Cleopatra after switching over to the jewelry wing's camera. All three of them stood in front of Germain and watched his animatronic figure for a few moments.

Minutes later Macarona witnessed some movement coming from the mage while the others stood rooted to their respective spots in front of him, completely still like statues from over in the sculpture wing. Not much else happened at first, but eventually the mage slowly sprang to life—sprang probably wasn't the best term since he more or less took a single step forward rather than jump off the platform. Coming down from his perch, Germain looked around at the others as he made several movements indicating they were conversing. His arms were gradually moving all around as his mouth piece kept opening and closing. Macarona closed her eyes and laughed at his actions. "Wowing the audience with some magic tricks, I take it?" she inquired, once again in the imaginary presence of their characters who then proceeded to walk through the rest of the museum.

Germain obviously took the lead as he started to give a little tour of the facility. His peers were right behind him as they followed and looked at each exhibit he came to, and his mouth piece opened and closed rapidly, much like a regular person. Macarona couldn't help but laugh, amused by the show that came with the other half of her first sandwich. "Perhaps Xerxes should hire you to give tours. You're so smart, you must know everything about this place," she quipped jokingly.

Another hour had passed and it was now one thirteen. The animatronics spent a good deal touring the museum with Germain as their guide. Now all four stood in the lobby talking amongst each other. Macarona had no idea what their conversation was about, but they seemed to be having a good time. All was going well, and she had no reason to suspect there would be any trouble with the animatronics tonight aside from small problems like losing footage of the front door.

Still, she was fully aware they were going to snap at some point or another and watched as Leonidas started to leave the group and walk towards the door. Macarona figured he was going to kill the camera, and sure enough she was right since the warrior drew his blade and attempted to cut the wires. "No use with that," she uttered while Leonidas gave up on the matter entirely, "you can't do that tonight, Leonidas. Sorry, but you need to learn your lesson not to mess with the…"

And then suddenly something hit the camera, disrupting its connectivity briefly. Macarona did not know how to reestablish the connection, so she switched to the other camera and watched as Robin pulled back the string on her bow and aimed for the camera she was observing from. In the next moment she shot the camera to completely kill this one. "…cameras," Macarona finished her previous sentence while switching back to the other camera on the door. She sighed when she saw Germain standing there, wanting to be released. "You guys are seriously trying to mess with me," Macarona commented as she switched to the basement camera for the sculpture workshop where she watched the elevator lights come on in the hallway. "I know why you want to get out so badly, but I'm sorry. You can't do that and leave; I'm under orders you know."

Suddenly Leonidas ran out of the elevator, but Macarona was ready for him. She shut both doors just in time as he finally reached the security office and banged on the door with his sword. Pressing the light switch, she saw him step over to the window and peer through at her and the other closed door before quickly leaving the same way he came. "I guess you don't want to watch me work," Macarona said, shrugging off his behavior. "The girls took an interest in what I do."

Returning to her seat, she continued to watch the sculpture workshop where Robin was to see what the archer was doing. The lights to the elevator had gone out, indicating it was closed. A sense of relief flooded over Macarona briefly, but she felt reassured when the elevator opened back up while Cleopatra stepped out. Even better, Leonidas ran back into the elevator. So now Macarona only had to concern herself with the girls unless Leonidas came back. With no real danger to her person, the young angel opened the doors to let some air in.

Cleopatra and Robin were still in the sculpture workshop, but they were slowly moving on to the painting workshop. Germain was still by the door, and Macarona watched as Leonidas came to him. Though the mage turned his back to the camera, she definitely felt like he was receiving a report from the warrior concerning his failure to break into the security office. Their activity was certainly suspicious because it appeared these animatronics were more intelligent than she or any other individuals initially believed. No wonder why people shouldn't judge a book by its cover. In a second both of them left the camera's line of sight and walked off elsewhere, so Macarona could not tell where they were going since the other lobby camera was down and the other ones did not show any trace of them. Perhaps they were both still in the lobby.

Two more hours passed and by now the girls had wondered throughout the basement. She closed the doors when they came by and watched them through the windows, but they simply went away each time they came by. Leonidas also made a couple of return trips to the basement so he could try and redeem his earlier effort—and subsequent efforts—to flip the switch, but still without any luck to no avail. Macarona had already finished her second sandwich and just observed them on the monitor as she cycled through the cameras.

While her job was starting to get difficult, she nonetheless managed to keep herself calm and prepared for them. Only Germain was proving to be elusive since she didn't see him anywhere. Perhaps he had shut down or something, but Macarona wasn't concerned because her attention was taken by the others still in the basement. For all she cared, he could have been doing magic tricks without any need for her to check up on him even if the other cameras found him in the act.

Eventually the time was winding down all the way to six o' clock with more futile attempts to flip that one such for their escape. Macarona yawned as she looked at her watch, finding that it was nearly fifteen minutes to six right now. "Time's almost up you guys," she said while yawning again and stretching her arms in the air. "You're going to have to return to your posts in a bit."

Standing to stretch her legs while opening the doors as Leonidas and Robin left the vicinity of the security office, Macarona sat back down after a moment to watch the footage of them going back up the elevator. That only left Cleopatra by the shutter door outside the jewelry workshop. Having cycled over to that camera once the others left, presumably for good since there were about ten minutes left, Macarona observed the healer stand by the shutter door and look at it. "You want in?" she asked tiredly. "Want to know what's on the other side?" Her questions went unanswered, but Cleopatra's next action made Macarona's eyes widen in surprise despite her exhausted state. The healer started banging her head on the shutter door and quickly intensified while the constant beating began to damage her head and cause pieces of it to fall off onto the floor around her.

This action caught Macarona off guard, but she kept the camera on Cleopatra while turning to the fourth monitor for the storage units behind the shutter door. She cycled through each of the cameras one by one, pondering if something in there was making Cleopatra malfunction if it wasn't an issue with her operating system. Macarona checked these cameras multiple times during the night to see if anything was amiss in that area of the basement, but nothing popped up. However, something in the jewelry storage suddenly caught her eye: in the corner by one of the boxes was a large ball of white mist floating in midair. It was hidden at first, so Macarona was unable to tell what it was until she took a careful look. Nothing was still out of place, but that mist was the only strange addition to this room because it wasn't there before.

It continued to float there for several minutes until it vanished. Macarona closed her eyes and rubbed them momentarily, but found the mist-like figure directly in front of the camera. It had almost scared her even though it merely startled her, but there was a twist to this sudden close-up. She could make out yellows balls of light floating in the mist that now clouded the jewelry storage. Were those balls of light…_eyes_? Macarona stared at it for about a minute, but the figure vanished again, leaving only a handprint on the screen. "W-was that…" Macarona whispered as a chill ran down her spine at the thought of what she just caught on camera, "…a ghost?"

Curiosity overtook her as Macarona slowly reached her hand up to the screen and pressed it against the monitor to perfectly match her handprint with the one on screen. She did not expect anything bad to happen for something as innocent as that. Unfortunately, it appeared the apparition of mist was one step ahead of her as Macarona suddenly cried out when a sharp pain went through her arm, causing the poor angel to lose her balance in the chair and fall.

She landed on her back as the chair swiveled around and threw her from it. As she sat up and winced in pain, Macarona examined her arm only for her eyes to widen in shock at the sight of a cut on the palm of her hand. It was starting to bleed, but she had nothing to bandage it up with. Yet something else immediately caught her attention as the six o' clock bell rang.

Macarona looked up and gasped, nearly screaming in fright when she saw the misty entity towering above her. It floated midair and she clearly saw it was looking down on her until the mist evaporated entirely, leaving no trace of its existence aside from the cut.

Unable to even think clearly because the sudden scare horrified her to such an extent that she was left speechless, Macarona quickly grabbed her lunchbox and the folder before bolting out of the office after flipping the switch. She ran to the elevator and slammed the button with such force it could have broken. The door opened to an empty elevator which Macarona entered and rode up to the first floor. The moment it was open she ran out before the door fully opened, rushing to the front door as she then barreled past Crona without even noticing her. Trauma was capable of preventing even some of the sanest minds from taking account of surrounds.

Strangely enough, the expression on the day guard's face retained its stoic posture much like her body. It was almost as if she wasn't surprised by Macarona's sudden departure. Then again she was a previous night guard who had experienced the same problems with the animatronics. It was also quite possible she also experienced the same mysterious phenomena as well. Regardless of what she thought, Crona merely entered the museum to start her shift.

…

**And that's it for the second night. Figuring out what to write for this chapter was a challenge, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.**

**For those of you wondering what the gimmick I've mentioned was, the spirit at the end of this chapter was actually meant to be a reference to Golden Freddy. The idea was to go beyond his presence in the first game by making the ghost somewhat deadly to an extent, much like how Golden Freddy was made dangerous in the second game. However, I've toned down on that a lot so the ghost would not be overpowered and also because it is more realistic since ghosts in real life can't do much harm to the living except in rare cases. I'm not sure if there will be additional spirits as the story progresses, but I'll keep it open to the idea.**

**Also, one thing I forgot to do in the author's notes for the previous chapter was bring up the passing of Monty Oum, the creator of Haloid and RWBY. I was going to dedicate this story to him because only recently I heard that he died on February 1, 2015. I wasn't aware of his death until sometime during production of the third chapter for this story. Monty Oum was one of the greatest animators the world has ever known, and he was a very inspirational and influential person because of his work. Rest in peace, Monty Oum, for you shall be missed by all who loved your work. Though I forgot to do this earlier, I dedicate this story to you and I apologize for leaving it out before.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoy writing it.**


	5. Chapter Five: Further Inquiries

This morning was peaceful, but Macarona found no cause for solace in her sleep. The rest she got was plagued by a nightmare of earlier which nearly kept her wide awake. Her encounter with what appeared to be an apparition unnerved her, and she began tossing and turning in bed at various points while she slept until the alarm clock snapped her out of it. She jolted up with a start, small beads of perspiration trickling down her forehead as she gasped for breath before soothing her frayed nerves. The nightmare was over and she was home; that was all that mattered now, and Macarona understood the meaning behind the other night guard's calls since she experienced the phenomena first hand face to face. Perhaps that was why others left the position as night guards.

The young angel gradually calmed down and sighed, her hair messed up by her disarray in bed. Even the thought of Yosafire complaining about bedhead didn't bring any comfort as she put a hand to her forehead before getting out of bed and casually sauntering downstairs to the kitchen. Opening a cupboard to pull out a box of cereal, Macarona set it down on the dining room table and returned to get a bowl, a spoon, and some milk. Taking a glance at the gauze pad she administered to her palm to cover the cut she received from that ghost. It still hurt, and she winced as motion made from moving her fingers over it caused more pain. That was why she didn't want to use the stove today; her hand still needed to be healed, so maybe she would visit a healer at the castle later.

Pouring the cereal into the bowl with some milk before returning the box and gallon to the kitchen, respectively placing both back where they belonged, Macarona went back to the dining room and started to eat her meal in peace as she replayed the events in her head. First came a talk with Xerxes as he presented her with a badge, a key, and the information she wanted. They had a brief discussion about the storage rooms, possible spiritual activity, and security footage stolen by someone who was possibly an employee. Next was the call briefly reiterating the spiritual activity followed by tips on watching out for Leonidas and Robin while Germain finally activated, but did not threaten her. Finally came a spirit after Cleopatra malfunctioned, and Macarona was quite sure at this point it was in fact a ghost that harmed her.

It left a small impression her, literally for that matter since it scratched her hand, but that in of itself did not totally frighten Macarona out of her wits since she still felt confident enough she could handle it. If anything, the ghost merely scared her a little to end Macarona's shift for the time being in the hope of driving her away. Perhaps that was what the other night guard alluded to on the phone which Xerxes brought up before, so that confirmed the spiritual activity. A theory popped up in Macarona's head was that the night guard stole those tapes to search for signs of any spirits on the footage, which could explain why they were taken. Though it was all speculation at this point, she felt it was probably the closest she could come to formulating a conclusive account regarding the history behind Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts.

As she finished her cereal and brought the empty bowl into the kitchen with the spoon, she rinsed them in the sink and placed them in the dishwasher while thinking about how to best proceed with her investigation. The ghost attempted to scare her away, but Macarona wasn't swayed. She faced down Ivlis with her friends even though she herself was knocked unconscious in the fight alongside Froze and Rawberry. Still, a young angel like her actually helped defeat a powerful devil from another world, which Macarona attributed to the fact that she was really super strong despite her weak constitution—which in of itself was probably due to her being the descendent and also a reincarnation of Rigatona, one of the most powerful angels in Miss Etihw's forces from the war. A simple ghost wasn't about to frighten her off with just a slight scratch, so Macarona knew she could handle herself so long as it wasn't stronger than Ivlis. Hopefully it wasn't that bad.

"Alright," she said with confidence as she walked over to her study and sat in a comfortable armchair by her fireplace, "time to look through this list." Reaching over to grab the folder from the desk, Macarona opened it and skimmed over the names of previous night guards before her. It took several minutes, but she finally finished because it was surprisingly shorter than what she had expected it to be. Based on her observations, the dates for their employment all came after the war which left a large gaping hole where others during it should have been. She didn't get any pictures or personal information with the list, but that didn't matter so long as she had the quantity of night guards and the dates in addition to a few marks indicating which ones were killed.

Getting the web outline from a drawer in the desk, she placed it in the folder after using a pencil to add the ghost to the outline before writing _"Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts- The Investigation into a Probable Conspiracy Theory"_ on the front. Putting the folder back in the same drawer, she got up and stretched, planning out her schedule for the day. First would be the library where Dialo and Chelan got their part time jobs so she could find sources on the angels. Then she would head over to Blancblack Castle's library for more sources on the same kind of information, but for an expanded search into them. It was a brief schedule at best, but the work would occupy her until tonight when she would be heading back to the museum for her third night.

This time she wasn't going to let a ghost stop her from completing the assignment she was tasked with. A lot was at stake here, so the job was important and it had to be done to protect the Grey Garden. The other night guards haven't finished the job, but she was going to be the first for a full time student working a part time job. It filled her with more confidence, especially since she was now heading towards discovering what the secret history of Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts was. Ghosts did not simply haunt places because they felt like it, and animatronics didn't have outdated systems that still ran on aggressive programming just because they wanted to. Something strange was going on behind the scenes, and Macarona was going to solve the mystery even if it cost critical injury or her life to find the answers she wanted.

That last bit used to scare her, and although it still did, fascination with this web of intrigue was just too good and juicy to pass up. Perhaps it was because Macarona loved to read mysteries and detective novels. She enjoyed imagining the detectives in her favorite stories solving intricate cases that tested their skills and knowledge, and sometimes Macarona even placed herself at the very center of those fantasies to become the protagonist.

Occasionally she read documentary tales written by real detectives from the war while they investigated crime scenes on both sides of the conflict. Those accounts were all nonfiction, and they were only disclosed to the public because Kcalb and Etihw agreed to let no secrets concerning the war stay in the shadows to prevent further conflict. However, access to the accounts was only allowed through the castle instead of the public library where other works of nonfiction and fiction could be found. The library in Blancblack Castle was an extraordinary resource for primary source material like those accounts, so Macarona was sure to find chronicles relevant to her investigation there when she went later to acquire more facts about the museum's history.

"Okay," she declared as she stood up and went upstairs to prepare for the day, "time to get this investigation rolling." Macarona smiled, wondering if somebody was going to write a mystery story about her. She closed her eyes and chuckled at the thought of possibly breaking a fourth wall.

…

"Ah, welcome Macarona," Dialo spoke up as her friend entered the library and strode over to her. "How is the job going so far? Has it become more difficult handling the animatronics?"

"Hello, Dialo, Chelan," Macarona greeted her friends before answering the inquiry. "The animatronics are alright, though one more has become active as a third entered the basement where the security office is. They're not too much trouble, really, so I can handle the work quite alright," she said, politely waving their concern aside. Unfortunately, that only seemed to make them worry slightly when they saw it was her bandaged hand she used.

Chelan hummed in concern as Dialo took the wounded hand in her own to examine it very gently so Macarona wouldn't feel too much pain. "What happened to your hand? Did you scratch it on something sharp or something?" she asked as the angel giggled sheepishly while scratching the back of her neck as if she hadn't wanted them to see it.

"S-something like that, yeah," Macarona chuckled nervously, hoping they wouldn't make a big deal out of it. She couldn't outright lie about how she got scratched, but they wouldn't accept a partial truth either as her sheepish laughter actually made her suspicious instead of sheepish. "It was nothing much, really. I just met a grumpy spirit at the end of my shift last night, that's all."

Her friends' eyes widened in shock. "A ghost did this?!" Dialo gasped while Chelan seized the hand and looked it over haphazardly, much to Macarona's discomfort as the demon obviously noticed. "Don't hold it like that, Chelan. You could make it open up," she lightly chided the other angel for her examination of the injury before turning back to Macarona. "How did this happen?"

Great, they were making a big deal out of it. Macarona hoped she could avoid it to continue her research, but it appeared any attempts to delve further into the mystery without speaking with her friends to let them know she was okay would stall her until she came out with the account. "I was just watching one of the cameras and caught a spirit on tape. I don't think that spirit liked what I was doing, so I'll be careful in the future when I'm working." Dialo opened her mouth to protest, possibly to tell her that she should think about quitting the job for a safer alternative, but Macarona was undaunted in her position as she spoke up first.

"Don't worry, girls, I'll be fine; it really is just a scratch. I know I'm not all that powerful, but I can't just stand down," she explained with a smile. "If I quit and walk away now after having only gone through two nights on the job, it'll leave the spirit with the impression that I'm too weak to do the job and protect our home. Even though I initially didn't want to do this job, I still have to because no one else might take it if I were to quit."

Dialo raised an eyebrow as Chelan hummed in confusion. "Initially?"

Macarona nodded. "Yes, it feels like I've stumbled upon a mystery I can participate in. It might not be a smart reason for staying onboard with the job, but at least it can occupy me when I am not on duty because I've actually taken quite an interest in it."

"More detectives and conspiracy theories?" Dialo inquired, her eyebrow still raised since she evidently knew how much Macarona loved that kind of stuff.

Macarona closed her eyes briefly and nodded. "Pretty much. I know you're worried for my sake, but I'll do my best to be very careful as I go about my business in this affair. I did help save the Grey Garden before when those demons from another world invaded."

Dialo and Chelan sighed in unison. "True, but if you're really that itching to go looking for trouble at your own expense, I'm afraid we can't stop you. Just try to come out of it without more scars, please," the demon requested out of concern even though she and the other angel gave up to let Macarona chase whatever secrets in her sights. "Anyway, how might we help you today?"

"I'm looking for a book on well-known individuals from the war, specifically the angels," Macarona said as they started getting down to business. "I want to know about the others from the museum, the heroes the animatronics are based off of, I mean."

"Certainly," Dialo remarked as she began to flip through a ledger of the library's inventory. She pressed her finger to the page and searched for any books that might fit the description and eventually found one a couple of pages later. "Yes, there is one here…Hold on, allow me to check for more if any…" A minute later she was done and back on the first page she got a result on. "I'll bring you to the aisle where it's at. Right this way," she commented while Macarona followed the demon over to a nonfiction section and strode down an aisle containing books of historical stories. Dialo scanned over the rows of books on each shelf on either side of her momentarily before she found what the angel was seeking. "Here you are, a copy of _'Tales of Warriors: Short Accounts of the Popular Angels and Demons of the War.'_ Would you like to rent it for your perusal?"

Macarona shook her head. "No thanks, I'll just be reading about three of the angels today. I already spoke with Miss Grora about Robin yesterday, so I'll be focusing on her comrades. May I go find a table to read this at?" she asked as her friend pointed to a nearby desk she could use.

"There is a desk right over there," the demon commented as she noticed another patron of the library walk up to the desk. "If you'll excuse me, Macarona, I must be getting back to work."

"Sure, thanks," Macarona replied as they parted ways while she walked over to the desk as she took a pencil and pad out from her pocket. Seating herself in a chair much like the ones found at school, she opened to the table of contents and peered through them in search of the angels who were honored with animatronics. The book was split into two separate sections, first tales of the demons and then the angels. Like Dialo, Macarona traced her finger down the page and came to a single tale about Robin. Out of curiosity, she kept her finger where it was and flipped right to the bit about the archer and then returned to the contents seeing as how it did not exactly divulge new information concerning Robin aside from a few random snippets of her life. Next was Leonidas and Cleopatra, so Macarona jotted the page numbers down for them; however, there was nothing regarding Germain in this particular book. Maybe he wasn't popular with other angels.

Still, the information on the other two was pretty helpful since it pointed her in a direction she could take the investigation in. Leonidas' background was very ordinary, but a caption beneath a picture of him standing resolute atop a cliff by a lighthouse did catch her eye since it mentioned Clarabella was the artist who painted this specific portrait, plus it was the same lighthouse she saw in the background of Germain's portrait at the museum. It served as a likely connection between them, so Macarona could delve further to determine if they were associates. As for Cleopatra, the healer was a prominent member of a church's staff which received plenty of donations from several benefactors including Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts.

Although this bit of information wasn't much, Macarona managed to form the small tidbits she learned into notes for her documentation. From these she garnered that Leonidas' only friends were in the angels' military and that Clarabella was nominated to paint his portrait. This was done at a remote location, the lighthouse by Germain's house, which was likely suggested by the mage himself. Germain was probably an associate of Clarabella as his magic could probably be applied to the animatronics to make them run more efficiently. All speculation for the most part without a specific reference to Cleopatra because it did not seem like she was involved with the other three, yet Macarona now had enough to go on for the next step of her research.

With the book now finished, Macarona returned it to the shelf where Dialo found it for her and started to head out, saying goodbye to Chelan and Dialo as she walked out the front doors.

…

"You want information on these angels?" a demon librarian in Blancblack Castle's library asked as Macarona handed him a list of their names which also mentioned they were connected by Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts. She didn't think the other information was necessary to bring up, so she just gave him the list and nodded in response to his question. "Alright," he said as he stood up from his desk and beckoned her to follow, "come with me, I'll take you to our reference section on people. It's where we keep records pertaining to this kind of knowledge."

"Okay, thank you," Macarona gave him her appreciation as she was led up a small flight of stairs to another floor of the library. It was a magnificent place, much like the entire castle itself. The walls were made of marble and plaster with white pillars in the four corners keeping the ceiling held up above everyone's heads. The ceiling was also a portraiture of an angel and a demon from the war—Macarona learned these two never existed, but were created from the realm of fantasy to symbolize their respective people—coming together to produce peaceful harmony. The walls were lined with impressive portraits as well, some of which were also in the museum, and nice windows.

Macarona sometimes came here to do research pertaining to school subjects, but this was the first time she was conducting a search of source material for her own private investigation. Her inquiry made her feel like a true historical researcher or detective since she was looking into what had the potential to become quite a mystery, one that might even be her magnum opus. She smiled at the thought en route to the specific area the attendant was bringing her to. Perhaps she could write a book on this investigation into Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts as a big project she could to share what she discovered with the Grey Garden so everyone could figure out the secrets that lurked within its shadows that were buried beneath the past.

Macarona smirked at the thought. _"What a novel idea,"_ she mentally joked and chuckled.

"Here we are," the demon finally stopped at an enclosed space with some shelves. "Take as much time you need to filter through whatever information you're accessing. Don't worry about having to put things back in their proper place since we have other faculty members here who can take care of that for you. Good luck with your search," he remarked before walking off.

"Alright, thanks," Macarona called after him before stepping over to the shelves for some books, making sure she only took what was needed and a few at a time so as not to overburden her shoulders by having to carry too many books. She was strong, but not that strong due to her weak constitution. It was a serious issue that prevented her from using up too much energy while doing a hard task, so heavy laborious work required the aid of friends to get the job done. Even so, she was still able to finish plenty of things on her own without having to rely on others too much.

After acquiring enough source material for this next step in her research, Macarona looked over the rest of the shelves before finding a table to sit at to make note of which other volumes she required. Unfortunately, it seemed the few manuscripts she already located were the only texts on relevant material, and she hoped there would be enough information in them for the investigation to go on. Running out of clues and leads was a serious bane to detectives, one of their weaknesses which prevented them from solving cases. Macarona knew it happened to even the best of them, but hoped this case would be seen through to the conclusion.

Turning to the adjacent tables around her, Macarona frowned as she looked around for one that wasn't occupied by others making use of the reference guides. "Not a lot of places to sit," she murmured quietly as she began to wonder the floor in search of a seat. "I never imagined this place would be this busy on spring break. Maybe they're all working on projects of their own."

The walk around didn't leave an opening to snatch a chair and a desk or table to work at, so Macarona went back down to the library's first floor and tried her luck there. Many of the areas were already taken by other angels and demons, some of whom were together in groups discussing various topics she wasn't familiar with. Although there were some empty seats, she usually saw those at tables where group work was being done. It wasn't until she was sauntering down an aisle that she finally found an empty table with three chairs lined around it. There probably was a fourth someone took already, but at least it wasn't a group since she couldn't hear noise there, so perhaps the lone individual—if there was anyone there—was simply reading quietly.

Macarona sighed in relief at this stroke of luck. "Finally, a place where I can work…" she began to say until her voice slowly trailed off at the sight of an all too familiar person she had seen before, but didn't know. There should have been the word 'quietly' at the end of that sentence, and while it was certainly quiet now, the sight of that individual demon made the word into an action that was carried out right away so everything really was quiet. A bit of background noise from the other tables was enough to act as a counterpoint to that assessment, but it was so low pitched it did not matter because Macarona could tune it out much like this demon was doing.

There, sitting in the seat opposite from the one she wanted to take, was the demon who had saved Macarona and her friends from that prison in Ivlis' world.

Macarona didn't think she would ever see her again, so she had not expected to meet her here of all places, especially since the last place they met was at the prison. Although, she did hear Dialo mention she and Chelan had met a passing demon who spoke to Miss Etihw with them. Was it the same demon they all encountered at some point or another during the invasion?

She looked so peaceful sitting in the chair with an elbow resting on the table and her head resting upon the back of her hand in turn. A book lay in front of the demon with her eyes glued to the pages which she delicately turned with an air of grace that made the angel self-conscious about her own casual style somewhat. Regardless of how she felt, Macarona was fine the way she was and nobody was going to command her to be any different because she wanted to retain her sense of self—who she was. Yet despite the confidence in herself, Macarona thought she was trespassing by entering the very same space as someone who emanated some kind of aristocratic style.

Taking a step back while turning to stop intruding on the demon's solitude, Macarona was suddenly called back by the clear voice of said demon who apparently noticed her without having averted her attention from the book. "You may sit," the demon said stoically as she turned another page. "There is enough room for you to work on whatever business you came to conduct."

Opening her mouth to try uttering "thank you" towards her, Macarona found her voice was caught in her throat. It was difficult to say the words not just because of her shyness, but also due to her standing in the presence of a dignified individual whose appearance came across as that of a beautiful self-portrait in real life—a living painting as it were. At best all she could do was simply mouth those words silently and hope the demon got the message Macarona sent across.

"It is no problem," the demon spoke up again while the shy angel took her seat across from her. "This is your world after all, so you have the right to go where you please. I'm merely a guest for some time as I'm taking time off from my business back in my world." Not once had her eyes left those pages, so Macarona was unsure if this demon remembered her from the prison. Still, she did acknowledge her presence and allowed her a seat even if she didn't recall her, so it probably wasn't all bad for intruding since the demon was right. The Grey Garden was her home and there weren't any limits on where she could or could not go. It appeared Miss Etihw and Mr. Kcalb let this demon stay for a while as thanks for her aid even though it might not have been much. Yet the message was received allowing Macarona an opportunity to work across from her, which was all that mattered for the moment since that was the issue that came up just now before it was resolved.

Unsure of how to respond, she just simply nodded her head and got right to work. First she opened a book concerning financial donations from the museum to various institutions both during the war and after it. It was during the war that interested her the most since she wanted to begin her expansion of the point concerning financial relations with Cleopatra's church sector. So far all seemed normal as registered information on each donation followed an average sum amount that, when divided up, came out to be equal payments per donation which meant that exactly the same amount was always contributed. However, an odd thing Macarona found was the addition of more money which she was able to cross reference with another book on the church. The same date was given in both accounts for when the money was subtracted from the church's revenue and added to the museum, implying that the church once gave money to its benefactor.

Writing notes down on this, Macarona tapped the pencil against her head as she thought of how this could have contributed to relations between Clarabella and Cleopatra. Did the healer give a gift of charity with aid from the church to the museum as thanks for regular donations? Was there an event which required money the church was only too happy to provide? Had there been an illicit agreement between the two institutions which involved a transaction of finances? Questions which could have gone somewhere even if the inquiries led to a conspiracy were a deadly tool detectives wielded in their arsenal, and Macarona was eager to use these questions to that end. Hidden secrets were buried in that past, so she was determined to uncover them to reveal complex puzzles that guarded more secrets which could shed light on the truth.

Pulling another book off of her short stack, Macarona's attention was suddenly diverted to the direction behind her somberly majestic associate. Kcalb was walking up to their table with a platter of biscuits while his brother, Wodahs, strode beside him with a tea set. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Ms. Reficul," the Head Angel said to the demon while placing the set down on the table, "we had to see to a minor issue before coming here, so please forgive our delay."

The demon—who Macarona now knew as Reficul—gradually turned her attention towards the tea and biscuits as Kcalb set the table with small plates and napkins. "That is alright. I sought to occupy myself with a bit of light reading while waiting. You've got a nice selection of books here, some which can't be acquired in my own world," she said while taking a biscuit for herself.

"Thank you," Kcalb replied while sitting down to pour some tea for themselves. "This is a quiet place to organize one's thoughts. I usually come down here when I have a bit of free time to read, though I sometimes bring the books out to the garden if it's a pleasant day outside."

"Yes, your garden is most beautiful, I must say," Reficul commented. "This world is unlike mine in many respects, so it is a satisfying change of pace to have on occasion. I enjoyed walking through it since the high contrast does wonders for immersing oneself in deep contemplation."

"Your words are greatly appreciated, Ms. Reficul," Wodahs remarked while taking a seat for himself. "We don't often allow outsiders in this world for fear they might disrupt the peace our people share, especially after Ivlis attacked with his legion, but your help has benefitted the Grey Garden so we can extend an invitation to you as appreciation for the aid you have provided."

"And your invitation is appreciated in turn, Wodahs," Reficul returned the remark with one of her own. "Though to be fair, I also had a stake in the affair as well since that airhead could have threatened my own world in his gluttonously greedy quest for power he lusted after. This world's safety was a side objective to that to be honest, but I am nonetheless grateful for acting a lot sooner than later because your world is quite enjoyable for a place so peaceful."

"Even so," Kcalb spoke up, "you have our gratitude all the same, Reficul."

Macarona made sure to stay silent as the trio spoke while she continued her studies. Though she wondered where Etihw was since she felt the Goddess should have been here too, it wasn't her business or place to bring her absence up. So she just continued flipping through the pages of the book she had just started leafing through when Kcalb placed a fourth plate by her. "Uh, Mr. Kcalb, sir?" she asked curiously, wondering why the devil was letting her join them.

"You do not wish to have some of the biscuits Wodahs baked, Macarona?"

Macarona shook her head. "No, it's not that," she said in confusion. "I am just curious why I am being allowed to as I did not expect you'd be meeting with Ms. Reficul. My intention wasn't to barge in on your conversation; I didn't want to disturb anyone else here as I thought this space wasn't being used by anyone aside from her. My apologies for interrupting your business."

"You're not interrupting, Macarona," Kcalb reassured her. "We didn't know you would be here either. Etihw was supposed to be taking your place, but her laziness put us back quite a lot as there are several unfinished documents along with other files that were not even started as of yet. She is back up at the office busying herself in a sea of paperwork that is her responsibility to complete," he explained as Wodahs nodded in agreement.

"Just because Lady Etihw is the Goddess of this world does not mean she can abandon her duties. Thankfully your work ethic is fulfilled to the letter, Brother."

"Indeed, her lack of professionalism is utterly deplorable," Kcalb commented on Etihw's laziness before turning back to Macarona. "So since Etihw is being punished by having to do work during the break, you are free to join in and take the share that was supposed to be hers, Macarona. Do not worry about leaving some for Etihw; she is not to receive any as part of her punishment."

"Um…okay, I guess," Macarona said with some hesitation. "Can you tell Miss Etihw I'm sorry for taking her snacks? I don't want it to seem like I stole them on purpose even though I was given permission. She might get mad at me for that."

"Like my brother said, Macarona," Wodahs spoke up to offer his reassurance as well, "you do not need to concern yourself with that. Lady Etihw knows what she did was wrong and received a punishment in accordance with her offense. She does not work, she does not get any breaks or any snacks until _all_ of the work is finished entirely. These are still fresh and I do not want them to go stale or for Lady Etihw to steal them, so please help yourself."

"Alright, thank you," Macarona said, still slightly apprehensive about accepting them even though they said it was okay. Taking a few biscuits from the platter while Kcalb poured her some tea which she then accepted, the young angel returned to her work briefly, unaware that she was being watched by Reficul until a few minutes passed. The demon had finally looked up at her with a passing interest in the angel since she recalled Macarona from when she saved her and the others she found in Ivlis' prison. Kcalb and Wodahs noticed her attention wasn't on their conversation as they saw she was looking elsewhere—at Macarona specifically—but they didn't say anything due to her politely waving their unspoken dialogue aside as she spoke up to get Macarona's attention.

"I remember you," she said to make Macarona look up from the book she was reading.

"Excuse me?" Macarona asked despite the thought of being recalled having already been confirmed by Reficul's brief statement about the prison.

"You were at the prison," Reficul continued as-a-matter-of-factly. "It seems you made it out of that airhead's world in one piece, if not without difficulty." Her gaze was narrowed, critical, but there was not a hint of malice or spite in her eyes. "You've been doing fine since then, yes?"

Macarona nodded in response, somewhat glad Reficul remembered her. "Yes, I'm alright. Things are back to normal now and I much rather prefer the peace instead of constant fighting."

Kcalb listened to their brief conversation before speaking up to inquire how they met. "Do you two know each other already?" he asked, curious as to how Reficul and Macarona were quite familiar with one another by this time even though this was the first time he laid eyes on the two of them at once in the same room together. The devil initially thought about introducing Macarona to his old acquaintance at first, but Wodahs joined the conversation to further elaborate on it.

"I believe Ms. Reficul is referring to the prison in Ivlis' world where I was imprisoned for a while. If I'm not mistaken, I'm assuming Macarona and her friends had also been captured before they were freed by her, correct?" the Head Angel inquired as Reficul confirmed his question.

"Indeed, she and a few others were in another cell close by. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep the portal to your world open as I had done for you because the airhead sensed my presence and took action to prevent me from maintaining it. At best all I could do with that restriction upon my abilities was aid in their escape so they would have a chance to return."

"It's fine," Macarona interjected with a comment of her own. "It might not have been much, but at the very least you did save us from imminent death. I never thought we'd have received aid from anyone at the time until a passing demon sympathetic to us like you came along, Ms. Reficul."

"Passing demon?" Wodahs inquired out of curiosity. "You mean Ms. Reficul?"

His question caught the other angel off guard as she looked him, confused by what Wodahs meant. "Um, yeah, why? Am I not allowed to refer to her as such? I apologize if she is offended by it, though that was how she introduced herself to us when we first met."

"Ah," Kcalb spoke up as he finally comprehended where Macarona was coming from. "I'm afraid you two haven't been properly introduced since your rescue," he said while holding a hand out to present Reficul—formerly known to Macarona as the passing demon—to her. "Macarona, allow me to introduce you to Reficul, a devil from another world and an acquaintance of mine."

Macarona's eyes widened in surprise, shocked that she was addressing an individual so powerful and so much like Kcalb in an informal manner. "Y-you're another devil?!" she exclaimed while having some difficulty taking this revelation in as she shrank back in her seat. "M-my utmost apologies, M-Ms. Reficul, I-I had no idea you were s-so respected!" Macarona said while stuttering some of her words with the shy, timid side of her letting itself be known to express her discomfort at treating the devil as more of a friendly associate than the majestic individual she actually was.

"You need not apologize," Reficul closed her eyes as she took a sip of her tea. "It was my introduction as a passing demon that threw you off at the start of our encounter. I had no intention of providing aid like I said, but I knew collaboration would increase our chances of success for both my world and yours. As I have also mentioned, this world is strangely peaceful, but enjoyable and comfortable in that regard, so I am glad to have assisted you."

"U-uh, o-okay," Macarona whispered softly, but still loud enough for the others to hear her as she blushed in embarrassment. "B-but I-I'm just an ordinary angel, s-so I-I—"

"So what?" Reficul inquired casually, her eyes fluttering open in a narrow gaze which still did not possess a trace of a cold spite that would have looked down on an angel like her. "Bear in mind that your status in this world as one of its saviors would put you on similar terms with one of my status. Did I also not mention that I was a guest here in your world? The duration of my visit for the next few days does not imply I am only here on business alone as there are a multitude of reasons why I have come. Simply put, you are a citizen and I am the outsider; had our roles in this been otherwise, we would not have even associated all that much. What ensures your presence in my eyes is your significant contribution in defeating the airhead, so even were you to be an outsider in my world, I would still acknowledge you more than most for your significant achievement."

Her words were meant to reassure Macarona of their respective places in this society, but although the angel found some comfort in the explanation, she was still self-conscious about how she addressed others. Unsure of what to say next, Macarona just swallowed a lump in her throat to clear it while returning to her own little project, somewhat shamefully because she felt embarrassed to have spoken so casually towards a devil as if they were on the same level. They clearly were of a completely different status with Macarona as a plain old angel and Reficul as an esteemed devil.

Kcalb noticed Macarona's obvious discomfort and decided to change the subject, waving a polite hand by Reficul as she was about to speak up again. "Don't worry, Macarona is just shy around others sometimes. I'm sure she'll get used to you at some point," he said as the angel they were discussing blushed again in embarrassment because it wasn't about getting used to Reficul; it had more to do with being uncomfortable around someone of a higher status. Macarona was fine around Kcalb and Etihw since they were always informal around others while still retaining good manners expected of someone their caliber, but Reficul was a different story because she was from another world where such pleasantries likely weren't allowed since interactions were formal.

She found very little information that was useful to her investigation in the book pertaining to death certificates which she leafed through for the animatronic angels and Clarabella. All she could find that was remotely helpful were the dates of deaths for all except Robin whose certificate said she was presumed dead, and which tombstone numbers to look for if she ever decided to visit the cemetery to see their graves. One tidbit she found was that Clarabella committed suicide with a crossbow by shooting a bolt through her head. That was certainly odd, so Macarona made a note of it on the pad to find out more on that later if possible.

Taking notice of the notes she was taking and having already gleaned over what Macarona was focusing on, Wodahs took one of the books she was using and looked through it for himself. "Looking into the history behind Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts, eh?"

"Y-yeah," Macarona nodded while she finished writing down the tombstone numbers. "I'm researching it—specifically the important angels involved in that history." Her voice steadied itself with the emergence of this topic as she was thankful for the change in subject.

"Seems like you're very busy with that," Kcalb commented on her work ethic. "Keep at it; I'm sure you'll find what you need in due time."

"Thank you, Mr. Kcalb," Macarona closed her eyes and bowed her head to show gratitude.

"Yes, my brother informed about your work," Wodahs remarked after he finished chewing a biscuit. "The night guard for the museum..." he then said before pausing, closing his eye while in deep thought over the matter. "I've received word from an agent of mine that you sought some information concerning the death toll of previous individuals in that position, and I also heard the animatronics they use there were once weapons in the war. Did you have any trouble dealing with them on the job?" he inquired as Macarona shrugged in response.

"Sort of, but they aren't too difficult to handle," she said after taking a sip of tea.

"Was one of them the cause of that?" Kcalb asked, pointing to the gauze on her hand.

Macarona shook her head. "No, apparently the museum is haunted. A spirit scratched me after I was observing it on one of the cameras. I don't think the ghost liked me watching it."

Kcalb closed his eyes and crossed his arms, evidently thinking about this turn of events the young angel landed herself into. "Hmmm…first animatronics and now ghosts. It seems there is a lot more to that museum than one would initially think."

"My thoughts exactly, Brother," Wodahs agreed. "I shall make inquiries into this matter as I see no reason why the spirits of our fallen comrades and ancestors should be haunting our world after we've made peace with each other and reconciled their spirits to our decision."

"Good idea," Kcalb complimented his brother's plan of action. "I can help you with that," he then said before turning back to Macarona. "I assume you'll still continue your investigation as well, am I right, Macarona?" he asked her to which she replied with an affirmative nod.

"Indeed, I'm still researching it. This case definitely caught my interest," she said, looking at her watch to check the time before getting up. "Sorry, but I have to go now. I've got to get ready for work in a while. Thank you for the snack and company," Macarona finished by bowing to show her appreciation for their hospitality before waving goodbye as she walked off after gathering her things together and pocketing them before leaving.

"You're quite welcome," Kcalb returned the remark while Macarona left. "Now then," he said after she was gone, "where were we before we switched gears towards Macarona's job?"

"I believe we were inquiring about what Ms. Reficul's own world is like, Brother," Wodahs said to the devil as they resumed the conversation the three of them all had at an earlier break. "I'll not forget to look into that other matter she brought up later, but first let us enjoy this small bit of time off." He took a bite of another biscuit as Kcalb closed his eyes while taking a sip of tea.

"Yes, indeed," he agreed. "Much of Macarona's time this week is occupied with working during the night and sleeping in the morning to rest up, so she only has the afternoon to really look into a mystery like this. We should provide her with aid whenever we can on our time too, but you are right. It's not often we get to enjoy a bit of free time without Etihw constantly mistreating me with her mocking taunts and cheating at games. Hm?" He turned his attention to Reficul when he noticed she wasn't interested in their conversation anymore. "Something on your mind, Reficul?"

Reficul was silent. She didn't say a word for several moments.

"Ms. Reficul?" Wodahs inquired as he and Kcalb wondered what she was thinking about.

A couple seconds later Reficul finally spoke up. "Animatronics and ghosts, eh?"

Kcalb looked at her while pondering if she was going to help them with this latest situation. "You thinking about joining us on this matter?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Reficul merely said, taking a sip of tea. "This issue seems to affect only your world rather than mine, so I have no stake in the matter. Nonetheless I shall give it some thought and decide for myself whether this is worth my looking into as well."

…

**And thus the investigation continues, but has now been put on hold so Macarona can resume the job. This is not the last we'll see of Reficul, and she shall regret that decision soon enough. You have three guesses why that is, but the first two are most certainly wrong.**

**I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoy writing it.**


	6. Chapter Six: The Third Night

Her hand began to feel much better as Macarona rode her bike over to the museum for what was the first time she actually decided to bring it. The time on her watch indicated it was seven o' clock, a half hour before she would've normally headed over like for the past two days. She could have even walked to the museum and would still make it on time to get everything prepared for a shift as the night guard since it only took several minutes to get there even at seven thirty. However, Macarona wanted to be ready for the phone call she was going to answer in the security office as the other night guard rang her up, plus she wanted to examine the storage unit if possible and talk to Xerxes about the second night to let him know what happened.

She remembered running past Crona on her way out in a frantic state, but Macarona hadn't noticed her at first because she was scared of what had happened. The ghost scratched her hand as she watched it on a security camera, and it did the deed through the footage before standing over her in the office. Macarona never related this to Crona, but figured the demon would inform Xerxes about it sometime later. It could have implied that she really did quit as the other night guard told her to do, but she wasn't going to give up that easily over a scratch which was already healed. She did have at least some time to see a healer at the castle on her way out after her investigation there.

The conversation she had with Kcalb and Wodahs was reassuring since they were getting involved as well on their end while she did her job, though her encounter with Reficul went sour in a way to some degree after she learned the passing demon was actually an otherworldly devil. It clearly embarrassed her to have treated the devil informally, so Macarona wanted to put some distance between herself and Reficul because of her own insecurities regarding how she addressed others and interacted with them. She just didn't feel comfortable knowing someone who saved her and had a regular association with her—albeit one that didn't last because Macarona only met her once before their second meeting today—was of greater significance than she was. Although the devil tried to soothe her nerves about it by reminding Macarona of her contribution to the victory over Ivlis, it still did not make her feel any better despite providing at least a bit of reassurance.

Taking a deep breath as that thought crossed her mind, Macarona closed her eyes for a bit and pushed the thought from her mind by banishing the memory completely. She did not want to be distracted by that event since it could leave her wide open to the animatronics and the ghost. It would only take a second for her to think about it as the former was coming to the door since the memory could draw her into a brief state of zoning out that would lengthen the single second that in turn would cause Macarona to forget about closing the doors. Opening her eyes to focus on the path once more, Macarona sighed in relief once she forgot her second meeting with Reficul, glad to be right on track with a train of thought concerning her job tonight.

It was a clear night tonight, and the stars were shining up above in the sky without a cloud to obscure any of them from revealing themselves to make their presence known. There was also a chill in the air, making the temperature much colder than the previous nights, so Macarona wore a light jacket over her sailor uniform and a scarf to cover her neck to protect herself from the cold. A gentle breeze rubbed up against the trees she rode by, gently swaying their branches as leaves fell from them to the ground below. One of them even landed on Macarona's hat, and another hit her right wing with a small tap before being smacked away by a motion the wing made while she peddled the bike which made the other leaf shake somewhat until it too flew off.

Macarona looked up as she approached the museum, gazing upon its splendor while closing her eyes to take a deep breath before getting off her bike to open the gate and walk through with it in tow at her side. Upon getting halfway across the open courtyard, sudden movement in one open stained glass window caught her eye and looked up. A shadow had simply passed by it, and now she no longer believed it was Xerxes or another employee. It must have been the ghost watching her arrival, so Macarona narrowed her eyes in determination as she stopped. "You do not scare me anymore, whoever you are. I'm not going to run away again," she said while continuing forward to the stairs and ascending them up to a set of new glass doors.

Pulling one towards her before stepping over the threshold, Macarona looked up when she heard a familiar voice call her name to find Xerxes up on the second floor. Perhaps it really was him she saw up above. In any case, Macarona obliged him by heading to the base of the stairs as he descended to meet her. "Hey, Macarona," her boss stated as he came down, "you're early."

"Yep," Macarona nodded, "I wanted some more time to get ready and speak with you about last night if you have time," she said as he also nodded in response.

"Sure, I've got time," Xerxes commented. "By the way, I heard from Crona you fled the premises early this morning. Something scare you off?" he then inquired out of concern for her.

Seems like he knew and made the assumption that she really did quit, so Macarona decided to set the record straight and come right out with the truth. "Yes, a ghost scratched me." She got right to the point in her explanation while holding her hand up to show where the cut had been. "I got it healed at the castle before, and now I'm prepared for whatever happens tonight."

"A ghost, eh?" Xerxes asked rhetorically with his hands in his pockets, a leather backpack hanging from his left shoulder shifting slightly as he put a finger to his chin. "A few of the other employees have also experienced odd paranormal phenomena today. One of them even claimed to have seen a pair of yellow balls—almost like eyes—in a misty figure look at him before vanishing before his eyes. Have you seen something like that last night?"

"Yes, that was what cut my hand," Macarona confirmed it for him.

"I see," Xerxes remarked. "Well, it seems like you're ready to face off against whatever is possibly scaring our faculty. I initially thought you were going to resign and sent a text message to you asking if you were alright, but my phone informed me it didn't go through for some reason. I tried again several times, but still no luck. I guess the ghost interferes with the signal sometimes, which can explain why some other calls we've made haven't gone through."

"But the phone calls I received from the other night guard have come through," Macarona surmised with a theory she came up with on the spot, "so maybe calls can come in from outside a lot better than ones from inside." It was a longshot, she knew, but the best likely idea she had.

"I thought so," Xerxes agreed with her before changing the topic. "Also, a couple of slight changes have been implemented since last night. "First we replaced the old doors with new ones as you've already seen. The hinges for them were getting old and rusty, so we installed glass doors which have been strengthened to be tougher than the older wooden doors. Second, we have placed Cleopatra in the sculpture storage area for the time being because she malfunctioned. I called the previous curator to report the incident to him, and he has agreed for our technicians to repair her in the afternoon tomorrow while he supervises them. We have also checked the cameras for any damage and repaired the ones that were, but the tapes were still stolen again. Is there anything else you want to ask? Have you decided whether you want to continue this job or not?"

Macarona nodded in determination. "Yes, I shall still stay onboard," she said before adding "though I also saw Cleopatra malfunction on the camera when she kept banging her head against the shutter door. I checked the cameras on the other side of it and found the ghost in the jewelry storage room after watching her go haywire." It was up for debate whether that was coincidental or not, but Macarona believed it was no mere coincidence. The ghost must've caused it, so she did want to take a look in those storage rooms when she had a free moment. "Speaking of which, is it alright if I enter the storage area to see if there are any clues regarding the spirit?"

"Alright, sure, here is the key for the shutter door," Xerxes commented as he began to head out. "Good luck tonight. I'm sure it'll be easier to not have to focus on all of the animatronics. Take care, Macarona," he said while walking towards the main doors.

"Thanks, you too," Macarona returned the remark as she walked upstairs to turn off all the lights on the second floor and close the open window up there before taking the elevator downstairs to shut the lights off downstairs on the first floor. Afterwards she strode back towards the elevator and glanced up at the second floor, spotting the familiar mist figure with the yellow eyes looking down at her much like it did on her second night. Although the figure disappeared a moment later, possibly while contemplating how to get rid of her, Macarona spoke up to address it about her not going to flee out of fear this time like the previous night.

"I won't back down because you want me to," she said aloud, her voice echoing throughout the museum. "You shall not do as you please, you hear me? I took this job to keep our world safe, so I'm not going to just sit by and allow you to cause chaos. You hurt me once, but that and more is not going to stop me. I will protect the Grey Garden, I will keep you in here. Do you understand me, or must I do something drastic to get my point across?"

Provoking a spirit was not a smart idea, especially a hostile one that had potential to harm people and made good use of whatever powers it had to ensure that pain was delivered. Macarona acknowledged this fully, but realized she still had to put her foot down and declare her stance with regards to the issue at hand. She was putting her own life on the line for her world, the home she always knew and felt welcome in because of its peaceful atmosphere. To allow something a chance to disrupt it could cause serious damage, so Macarona wouldn't give the ghost and animatronics the luxury of being able to escape and wreak havoc as they pleased like Ivlis had.

Almost immediately the air inside the museum changed, becoming tense and bone chilling as if the spirit accepted her challenge out of malicious spite because it eagerly took the invitation to cause harm. Macarona didn't welcome this sudden aggression, but she also did not flee from it either. The young angel simply averted her attention to the elevator and strode towards it, pressing the button to open the door and heading down to the basement. The lights flickered, but she chose to ignore them because this phenomena meant nothing even though the ghost was likely drawing energy from the lights so it could manifest itself better to attack. This did not deter Macarona, but she made sure to acknowledge that key fact because there was plenty of power for the spirit to take in and absorb so it could maintain its spectral form.

Stepping out into the basement, Macarona proceeded to turn off the lights before heading to the security office. This likely thwarted the spirit's attempt to gather energy, so all the better to keep them off. Walking inside the office, Macarona first placed her lunchbox on the table by the security monitors. It was filled with several small packs of yogurt and plastic spoons rather than two sandwiches because these were almost expired and she wanted to dispose of this food soon as possible, though the date on them was still good for her to eat the yogurt. Setting the footage for the fourth television on the sculpture storage room to keep an eye on Cleopatra, Macarona then switched the second floor footage to onto Germain. That left the other basement cameras free, so she could focus on them more than the others in addition to the first floor cameras.

Checking the time on her watch, she saw it was now seven thirteen. Quickly flipping the footage of the first floor to check on Leonidas and Robin, Macarona made sure to hit the switch to keep the main doors sealed to prevent them from escaping. Deciding to check on the front doors, she switched over to the camera watching them and was met with quite a surprise when her eyes widened slightly at the sight of someone else standing at the front doors. It wasn't Xerxes because he had already left, and Macarona was sure he hadn't forgotten anything.

No, the person out there was none other than Reficul, the otherworldly devil from her other encounters with her, first as a passing demon and then as the prestigious devil she discovered her to be. What exactly was Reficul doing here? Surely she didn't want a tour of the museum, did she? There was a sign on the glass door to show the place was closed, yet the devil just stood there like she was waiting to be let in despite the fact that visitors were not allowed admittance afterhours.

Macarona swallowed a lump in her throat as the memory of their conversation earlier made its mark once again as the thought resurfaced to intimidate her. It wasn't the ghost or animatronics she was afraid of; they didn't make her shudder the same way. The appearance of this otherworldly devil was enough to make things worse if she was allowed in because Macarona knew her shyness was a potential risk to distract her from the job. Her only solace lay in an attempt to persuade this unexpected guest to leave because the museum was closed. All Macarona had to do was apologize and tell her the museum was closed, and then that problem was solved. It would only take a minute, and the thing was so simple to do. At least she hoped it was that simple.

Taking a deep breath and also hoping the ghost didn't notice the momentary crack which revealed her weakness so it could capitalize on it, Macarona closed her eyes briefly as she walked out of the office with the flashlight and down the corridors to the elevator after flipping the switch again. She opened the door as she began to repeat a single phrase over and over several times, first as a slight whisper until she felt confident saying it to Reficul. "Sorry, we're closed…sorry, we're closed…sorry, we're closed…" Three simple words was all it took, and they were all she needed.

As the elevator door opened and she stepped inside it to press the first floor button so she could ascend there and say those three words to the otherworldly devil, Macarona concentrated on that phrase while tuning out all other mental distractions so she could say it clearly. When the door opened on the first floor, there was a friendly smile on her face as she strode out to the front doors and unlocked them. "Sorry, we're closed," she said with her eyes closed so she could come across more apologetically. That was it; she did her part and expected Reficul to do the same by listening.

Unfortunately, it appeared the devil had something else in mind when she suddenly barged right past Macarona and strode inside the museum, much to the angel's dismay.

"So this is Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts, eh?" Reficul asked rhetorically while a bewildered Macarona just whipped her head back and forth between the devil and the door she just walked through, completely speechless with a shocked facial expression that babbled nonsense which Reficul tuned out without realizing it. "Doesn't seem like much on first sight." The remark was fairly critical, but still without malice like before, yet it clearly indicated her initial disinterest in the establishment. Perhaps she had never been to a museum like this one.

As Reficul started walking through the lobby, finding her way around with help from the moonlight filtering in through the windows while her long skirt trailed along the floor, Macarona turned back to the front doors and closed them. Making sure they were locked, she turned back to the devil and found her already halfway across the lobby towards the painting wing where Robin was. "E-excuse me, M-Ms. Reficul," she called after her as she jogged over to Reficul to catch up, "the museum is closed. Y-you shouldn't be here." Unfortunately, her protests fell on deaf ears as Reficul didn't seem to pay much attention to what Macarona was saying.

The otherworldly devil didn't even respond as she casually sauntered through the area. She took many quick glances at the portraits before finally coming to the animatronic where she froze in her tracks and examined it from a few feet away while Macarona continued protesting. "Please, Ms. Reficul, I-I can't allow visitors in afterhours. I-I'm s-sorry, but you need to leave."

Reficul made no reaction to her please as she just stood there silently for several moments with a finger on her chin while crossing her other arm. Finally she began walking back to the lobby as if the protests actually reached her at last, and Macarona breathed a sigh of relief as she followed the devil. "Now, Ms. Reficul," she began to say while walking towards the main doors, "I'm sorry for having to let you out, but I really can't let anyone in at—h-hey, wait, where you going now?!" Her voice was surprisingly composed for the most part, but it wasn't until she watched Reficul go into the pottery wing that she lost confidence again.

The devil tricked her into thinking she was leaving, so Macarona knew she should've been a lot more vigilant to make sure Reficul left the premises. The security cameras caught her as she walked through the first floor, first in the lobby and then the painting wing. Now the camera in the pottery wing was watching her saunter through as Macarona jogged after her, the flashlight on in her hand and waving around to and fro while she tried to keep up.

Reficul didn't linger in the pottery wing for too long since she only stayed there for a few moments to observe the animatronic before walking down the wing once again. This time she was not going to progress onwards. "M-Ms. Reficul, please, visitors are not allowed on the premises—w-well, in the museum once it's closed. I-I'm on duty," Macarona continued to protest as she tried to make the devil turn towards the front doors and leave, but Reficul didn't heed her as she simply started ascending the stairs with quiet dignity and a stoic calmness that contrasted with Macarona's shy, timid demeanor while the angel was trying to show her out. Not wanting to cause an accident on the stairs, said angel rushed to the elevator in an attempt to cut Reficul off. It was a shame she was too late as the devil beat her to the jewelry wing to examine Germain.

Secretly Macarona was starting to lose her patience, but she couldn't outright yell at Reficul because it was disrespectful for two reasons. First, she knew her place since she was just a regular angel and Reficul was a powerful devil. Second, she was on the job and couldn't be impolite to a visitor or several, even if they were trespassing on public property afterhours. Therefore, Macarona had next to no chance of truly convincing Reficul to leave even though she was strong and could very well drag her out by force if that didn't conflict with the second reason. Still, she had to be a little more assertive in her protests for the devil to take her leave from the premises.

"N-now see here, Ms. Reficul," Macarona said after taking a deep breath while Reficul saw Germain and walked over to him, realizing that she needed to step up her game, "I can't allow you to traipse around this place however you please. As the night guard, part of my duty is to prevent anyone from getting in just as I must prevent the animatronics from getting out. I apologize, and I mean no disrespect, but you really must leave." There, she said it and felt more confident, but that in of itself didn't mean Reficul was going to listen—and she still didn't in fact without even giving Macarona and her protests any acknowledgement or responses. The devil just strode right past her and casually sauntered right into the sculpture wing with Macarona in tow.

The young angel face palmed as she silently followed Reficul until the unlikely pair made it to where Cleopatra would've once stood. Macarona sighed in agitated irritation, about to make one final plea for the devil to politely head out the door when Reficul finally spoke up again. This time, however, she was actually directing an inquiry to the angel. "Macarona, was it?"

_"Does this mean you'll finally leave?"_ Macarona wanted to say with a touch of politeness so she didn't come across as rude. She thought about it, yes, but against her better judgment she decided to bite and humor the devil if that's what she wanted. "Y-yes, Ms. Reficul?"

"This one here is empty," Reficul remarked while pointing a finger at the bare platform where Cleopatra would have stood. "Is there not one for this part of the museum like in the other areas, or has the animatronic been removed to another location?"

Macarona didn't know whether she should nod or shake her head. "There is one," she said, "but it malfunctioned earlier this morning right when my last shift was over. The animatronic that is normally here in the sculpture wing is Cleopatra, the healer."

"I can see the plaque, yes," Reficul nodded without looking at her. "The flashlight you are carrying is illuminating it. If this one is not here, where is it?"

"Being stored away until tomorrow when she can be repaired," Macarona replied as Reficul turned to walk down the wing. The angel checked her watch to note it was seven twenty-three as they headed over to the elevator together. Macarona pressed the button to open the door and walked in after she let the otherworldly devil enter first. "Now that this little tour is over," she said while pressing the first floor button, "it's time I let you out so I can get back to work."

Macarona initially thought that would be the end of it, but her expectation was soon proved wrong when the elevator door opened at the first floor so she could let Reficul off. However, the devil quickly pressed the button for the basement which made the angel turn to her. "Why would you do that?" she inquired out of surprise and also slightly out of anger. "You just finished walking around the museum. There is nothing else to see here; you've already covered both floors already."

But Reficul didn't respond again. She just waited for the elevator to arrive at the basement before walking out right before Macarona could hit the first floor button. "Wait, you can't be down here. The basement is for authorized personal only and former employees; you are neither."

Yet the devil still didn't listen as she strode through all of the workshops before she finally stopped at the security office. "This is where you work, is it?" she inquired as Macarona sighed in irritation after having followed Reficul around like a lap dog.

"Yes, this is where I work," she confirmed the statement by repeating it, her voice tinged with agitated frustration as she watched Reficul grab another chair that was in the office and pull it up to the desk. "No, you can't be down here, nor are you allowed here when the museum is not open," Macarona then said as she watched the devil plop her feet up on the table and pull out a cell phone which she paid more attention to than the angel whose patience she was trying.

Although said angel tried to stay calm, she couldn't help but feel infuriated at Reficul and her lack of proper etiquette in the face of the complaints Macarona made. Such arrogance! This devil displayed no sense of proper manners throughout their brief walk together in the museum, and now she had the gall to just sit there in the security office like she owned the place. How rude! Macarona clenched her right hand into a fist as her body tensed with anger, the reasons she had for not wanting to scold Reficul and scream at her evaporating as the devil yawned with what the angel could only describe as uninterested dissatisfaction. She could not take it anymore, and thus resolved to act right away. Macarona no longer cared for how strict she should have been because now she had every reason to be justifiably infuriated at someone who rudely found this boring.

Immediately stepping over to where Reficul sat with her phone on as she plugged a headset in so she could listen to music while watching the footage, Macarona, with a quick motion that not even Reficul could see until it was too late, ripped the offending cell phone right out of the devil's hands and seized the offending headset as well. "Hey," Reficul spoke up while the angel pressed the power button on the phone and put it in her pocket with the headset placed near the lunchbox, "that's my—" She started to get up, but Macarona slammed the palm of her hand on the table and got right in the devil's face to stop her, her own face contorted in rage.

_"SIT DOWN NOW!"_ Came the furious command of an angel who could only take so much before she ultimately unleashed every bit of rage in within her. The order was so unexpected and loudly scary that it actually frightened Reficul back into her seat as an expression of terror spread across her face. Never before had she experienced an angel like Macarona enter a berserk state, so the sudden outburst was enough to make her tremble in fear as the angel towered over her.

"I AM THE NIGHT GUARD HERE, AND YOU ARE CLEARLY TRESPASSING ON PUBLIC PROPERTY AFTERHOURS!" Macarona continued her screaming rampage as the seat Reficul sat in nearly fell backwards with her in, but it only remained upright if at a dangerous angle because the devil held onto the table for support. "THE SIGN SAID THE MUSEUM IS CLOSED; THAT MEANS VISITORS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN AFTER CLOSING HOURS!"

"I-I'm s-sorry, I-I—" Reficul timidly protested fearfully, her free hand held up in defense as she tried to explain herself, but Macarona's fury was unrelentingly merciless.

"SORRY'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH! I HAVE MADE IT CLEAR NUMEROUS TIMES THAT YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED IN HERE ONCE THE MUSEUM IS CLOSED! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"

Reficul nodded meekly. "Y-yes, b-but I-I—"

"NO BUTS! THE MUSEUM IS CLOSED! IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE WELCOME TO COME IN AND DO AS YOU PLEASE! UNAUTHORIZED PERSONAL ARE NOT TO BE IN THE BASEMENT UNLESS GRANTED PERMISSION BY THE CURATOR OR ANY OF HIS EXECUTIVES! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

Again the devil nodded timidly as her trembling became uncontrollable. "Y-yes, b-but—" she tried to repeat herself again to explain her motive for coming here, but Macarona interrupted her before she could continue with another violent shout.

"BUT WHAT?!"

Reficul swallowed heavily as she trembled, her eyes wide with fright as her pupils dilated. She was breathing heavily as her heart spiked in her chest while she became really pale. The devil knew she needed to choose her words carefully, lest she unintentionally piss off the angel even further—which was no surprise because she already accomplished that without even trying since it wasn't her intention in the first place, yet Macarona still perceived her behavior to be offensive. After several moments of silence, Reficul finally found a small fragment of courage to address the angel with her true motivation for coming to the museum tonight. Unfortunately, it was difficult to make her case convincing because she wasn't sure Macarona would believe her.

In what could have been considered slightly above a whisper, Reficul swallowed again as she began to speak. "I-I, u-um, u-uh, t-thought you c-could use s-some help, t-that's all—" Though she managed that much at the very least, most of her words were stuttered out of sheer terror. She tried to sound as composed as possible, but that was now impossible with an enraged angel glaring right at her while fuming over the devil's blatant misconduct.

Macarona merely narrowed her eyes which were now full of intent to punish severely, and the one individual she had her sights on was none other than Reficul. _"Is that so?"_ she asked, her voice full of venom which the devil could feel on the angel's breath as it engulfed her because the angel leaned down a bit while Reficul still cowered before her.

"U-um, y-yes," Reficul meekly nodded while the angel responded with another inquiry that was also quite venomous much like that first poisonous question.

_"And why did you not think to mention it sooner?"_

Reficul swallowed, terrified that her answer, despite being completely honest, was going to further infuriate Macarona even though it was the truth. "U-uh, w-well, K-Kcalb s-said you're, u-um, s-shy, s-so…" she stuttered, but her voice died in her throat as Macarona's clenched fist trembled in anger. She would have finished had it not been for fear of getting beaten, but the angel did that for her as she inched closer to the devil's face. Any closer and Reficul might have lost her grip on the table and fallen backwards, and she was sure Macarona wouldn't catch her.

_"So you believed it was polite to just waltz in here uninvited and not say why?"_ the angel inquired suspiciously, not entirely buying Reficul's story. _"That you can disregard warnings I've given you without acknowledging them? All because I'm shy?"_

Reficul's face turned completely ashen. If there was ever a time when she was frightened for her life, this would be the pinnacle of that in addition to being the only time she felt so scared in all her life which was actually a first for her. "I-I'm s-sorry, I-I d-didn't m-mean t-to. I-I r-really d-did w-want t-to h-help y-you, M-Miss M-Macarona, h-honest." That formal way of addressing the angel was meant to calm her down, so the devil threw that in with the truth to get her intention across to Macarona. At least she believed it would soothe the furious angel's nerves.

_"Really?"_ Macarona asked venomously while Reficul nodded timidly to confirm that was case in response to the poisonous word before she stood up straight. "Alright, fine," she then said with a firm voice despite the pain of having yelled at the top of her lungs hurting her throat a bit. "You can stay and help, but you'll be following some ground rules, understand?"

Reficul merely nodded out of fear as Macarona started setting those rules down. "First, feet off the table; this is a security office, not a lounge for you to relax. Second, no cell phones; you shall not make calls or text anyone. Third, you will be watching the cameras with me and shall close the right door when the animatronics go for it. Fourth, don't destroy them; they are property of the previous curator, and damaging them in any way could instigate legal issues for this place and the staff including me. Do you think you can handle all that, or do I have to drag you out by force and throw you out of the museum into the cold?"

Reficul was still trembling and still extremely pale, though her heartbeat settled down while she swallowed and nodded as she followed each command. "U-um, y-yes, M-ma'am."

_"Do not call me Ma'am."_

"A-ah, s-sorry!"

"Good," Macarona commented with her hands on her hips, "and when the morning comes you will not be returning to the castle just yet. We shall remain here so you can explain to my boss why you broke into the museum and trespassed on public property while ignoring the constant warnings I've given you. You are a guest in this world, but here my boss makes the rules with me in charge at night. I have responsibilities in this position, and I could lose my job because you had to come along and cause trouble whether it was unintentional or not. Have I made myself clear?"

Reficul swallowed and nodded. "Y-yes." She was almost going to ask for her phone and headset back, but figured doing so would make Macarona mad again.

"Fine," the angel merely remarked as she settled down into her own chair and focused on the cameras, making sure to check the time on her watch. It was two minutes to seven thirty, and she was well prepared for that phone call—albeit with a somewhat sore throat from all the yelling.

Macarona was actually surprised that she turned the tables on Reficul; the devil looked like a professional businesswoman with an air of elegant poise contrasting with the angel's personality. Only rarely did Macarona ever quicken to anger, the only other time being when a loser from Ivlis' forces hurt Froze and nearly killed her and Yosafire when she jumped off a cliff to save her friend. And now she used that anger to shatter the composure of a devil more sophisticated than she was. She would've apologized to Reficul for screaming at her, but her rage was justified.

Taking several deep breaths to calm herself down from the fury, Macarona pulled out her own cell phone and Reficul's before placing both on the table. The devil's went by the headset out of Reficul's reach, but the devil made no attempt to retrieve it out of fear the angel would yell once more at her. As for Macarona's, she simply laid it out in front of her as Reficul watched her in a state of nervous confusion, afraid to even ask why Macarona was contradicting one of the rules. It was a good thing she didn't because the angel caught a brief glance of her facial expression, though while the devil merely shrank away from her, the angel figured she should nonetheless explain it.

"This is one of the reasons why I'm alert to the animatronics on this job," she said briefly as the devil finally took an interest in what this tidbit of information was about.

"O-oh?" Reficul inquired without having to even ask the question because Macarona could understand the gesture for her to continue with her explanation as the devil calmed down slightly.

"For the past two days I've received a couple of calls from another night guard from this museum. I never got this individual's name, but the person has provided with me some tips for my research into the museum's history and tricks for how to deal with the animatronics. The other two calls started at seven thirty," she mentioned as her watch showed it was a minute to then, "so I am waiting for the third call which I shall answer and finally speak to the other night guard directly."

"Ah, I see," Reficul acknowledged Macarona's logic as the angel brushed a few locks of stray hair out of her left eye. "So then this person taught everything you need to know so to speak."

Macarona merely shrugged and shook her head as the seconds whiled away. "Not really," she said while leaning back in her chair. "Xerxes, my boss, already told me the animatronics were old weapons from the war between my fellow angels and the demons in our world, so I was aware of their old programming which was still installed in their systems before the first call. I originally wasn't going to get involved in the little investigation I'm doing outside of work, but the former night guard—the one who calls and worked this job before me—caught my interest with what may be a much larger issue at hand here, as if there is an alleged conspiracy buried in the past. I was also advised to resign from this job for my own sake, but I'm seeing it through to the end."

At the moment her cell phone rang with the same number as the other two calls listed under the symbol indicating an outside number was trying to reach her. Seizing the opportunity that she had been waiting for, Macarona put the phone on speaker after answering the call so Reficul could hear it too. The electronic voice coming through from the other end was exactly the same as with the previous two calls, so Macarona immediately recognized who she was speaking to.

"_Hello? Hello? Are you there? Have you finally quit the job and moved onto other things yet?"_ Perhaps the other night guard was aware the call finally got through without going into the voice mail on Macarona's phone. However, this night guard didn't realize she hadn't resigned yet, and the person was going to be very disappointed when Macarona brought up her dedication to the job. She didn't know who this individual was yet, but she was going to break it to whoever it was and handle the response accordingly. It was a serious matter, and Macarona was ready for it.

"Sorry, but I'm still here," she spoke up in response to the question, positively sure that the night guard calling her would get the message in that simple phrase.

"_Seriously?! You're still putting yourself in jeopardy over a stupid pay check?! Listen you, there is a fine line between confidence and stupidity. I get the second night and all, but going for a third night is definitely asking for it. Have I not warned you about this twice already?"_

"You did," Macarona retorted back as she sought to tease out more information from the night guard. "Although your advice was helpful when dealing with the animatronics, you were not fully clarifying some key points I noted in your previous calls, plus Xerxes provided plenty more information on what's been going on than you have. I already know about the old systems in these animatronics and the ghost wandering around this museum, but I can handle both just fine."

"_And what if you can't? Are you so dense as to stick around despite knowing all that? Were the animatronics and the ghosts not tangible enough for you to reconsider your decision about working here?"_ The night guard answered with another retort before Reficul spoke up.

"I believe she has a point," she mentioned, to which Macarona cast a cold glare towards her which made Reficul shudder nervously as she shrank back a bit. "J-just s-saying."

"_Wait, you're not alone this time?! Who else is there with you?! Did you seriously drag a poor soul into this mess you've gotten yourself into?! No pun intended, of course."_

This was the point where Reficul believed it was better to keep quiet and let Macarona do the talking, but the angel narrowed her eyes coldly and nudged the devil with her elbow, forcing her into this conversation. Although Macarona didn't have to say it, Reficul got the message that came across in that gesture as it simply told her that she wound up in trouble because of her own actions. So after swallowing a lump in her throat to clear it, the devil spoke up again to clarify who she was and explain why she was here in the first place.

"O-oh, u-uh, h-hello," she opened with a slightly stuttered greeting. "Good evening to you, Miss, um, fellow night guard. I am Reficul, a devil from another world on a visit to see someone I know here," she continued as the night guard interrupted her with a couple of sarcastic questions.

"_Oh, so you and the part time novice are good friends all of a sudden? Old acquaintances catching up on some good times or something like that?"_

This night guard didn't seem to get that there could have been others Reficul was visiting.

"She's here to see Mr. Kcalb and Miss Etihw," Macarona clarified as the devil silently mouthed a thank you to her. "Ms. Reficul is only here because she barged in of her own accord to offer her assistance for tonight—and only for tonight since I shall not have anyone else be joining me for the remainder of the week," she explained further and went on before the night guard had a chance to respond. "That's right, I'm staying the whole week. I want to find out what's going on with this museum, the ghost, and these animatronics. I've started an investigation into this affair, and although I haven't made much progress on my own, I intend to see this through to the end and get to the bottom of it so I can better understand the situation."

"_The whole week?!"_ the other night guard exclaimed in surprise, struggling with the notion that Macarona was going through with the rest of the week. _"I…You…Damn it! You are seriously screwed up, you know that?! To actually want to stay for an entire week?! What is wrong with you?! Have you gone insane?! You realize you're risking your life and could very well die?!"_

"If I didn't, who would prevent the animatronics from escaping?" Macarona laid her cards on the table with this next point, her trump card in the hand she was dealt with and would continue to deal with. "The former curator won't allow them to be destroyed and is also going to be coming over tomorrow afternoon to supervise the repairs on Cleopatra. I encountered enemies worse than them and the ghost haunting this building, I can take care of myself just fine on my own here. Do you recall the recent invasion we had a while back, the one in which a devil and his legion attacked our world? I personally fought him with my friends and helped beat him back, so I'm sure several animatronics and a ghost are nothing compared to that devil."

"_You did huh?"_ the other night guard inquired rhetorically, but still somewhat suspicious of Macarona's intent to finish this. With a sigh, the other night guard relented after a few moments. _"Fine, you want to do the job, go ahead. It's your funeral, after all. I guess you don't want me to call you back tomorrow night with more 'advice,' right?"_

"That's not it," Macarona said as she finally decided to stop beating around the bush. "I'm investigating this while working as I already said. I was hoping we could work together since you did inspire me to look into it further. So what do you say?"

There was a slightly long pause on the other end as the night guard considered Macarona's proposition before finally relenting to accept it. _"Hmmm…okay, I guess we can. I'm trying to look into this on my end as well. I know we can't really begin until tomorrow, but I have time for some quick questions you have concerning anything you've found."_

Macarona smiled as she brushed some locks of hair out of her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "Glad to hear it," she remarked before getting down to business. "Let's start with the tapes."

"_Oh, those,"_ the other night guard commented casually, _"yeah, I've got those. They're safe and sound at my place. I've been examining them for signs of anything else to look into, though it is not quite as prosperous in that regard as I'd hoped since much of my free time is consumed by the tapes. If I had time or a partner like you who could get to other avenues of this mystery when I can't, that would be great. Well, it already is since we just made the deal, but I digress. Listen, I can't do much on my end for reasons I don't want to give over the phone, but I'll help when I can."_

"Alright," Macarona agreed while Reficul, who merely faded out of the conversation, took a renewed interest in this matter. "Now that that's out of the way, when can we meet? I would like to know who you are so we can drop this whole subterfuge to work together more effectively."

"_Fair enough,"_ the night guard consented to that request with one condition, _"though I'd much rather keep my identity secret over the phone since the ghost might recognize me from when I did the job. Hence the need for this electronic device I'm using to mask my voice."_

"I can agree to that," Macarona said before going on to ask how they would get together in the near future, but something strange caught her eye on the security monitor she had on Germain. The animatronic of him was starting to move, but she realized it wasn't even eight o' clock yet as she checked her watch. It was only close to fifteen minutes until then, so why was he waking now? Macarona also noticed Leonidas and Robin begin to activate as well, so she had to hang the phone up now and get right to work with Reficul. "Hold on, sorry we've got to go. The animatronics are activating now, ahead of their normal schedule," she said as she picked up the phone to hang up.

"_Wait, what?!"_ the night guard exclaimed in surprise. _"It's not even eight yet! Why are the old systems booting up now?! They shouldn't even be awake yet!"_

"I don't know," Macarona said as she and Reficul watched the animatronics walk through the wings towards the elevator. "Just call me back a little after six, okay?"

"_No, I'll find you in person,"_ the other night guard suggested. _"Don't ask how, especially considering how the animatronics are starting to get aggressive now. I will come for you, so you both be sure to survive the night. Just don't get that 'Reficul' person involved in this; I don't want anyone else who isn't party to the problem to get hurt, so leave her out of it. Good luck."_

"Don't worry, she won't. I'll make sure of it," Macarona said before ending the call while turning to the devil next to her. "You won't get into any more trouble, right?" she asked, narrowing her eyes as she eyed Reficul with suspicion which was justified since the devil did barge in on it.

"H-hey, alright," Reficul commented nervously, her hands held up in a defensive gesture, "I'll stay out of this after tonight. You won't have to concern yourself with my presence anymore."

"Good," Macarona said while turning back to the security monitors to change the basement camera footage over to the one in the sculpture workshop so they could see the animatronics come down on that camera. "It's bad enough for me that you're still trespassing—and don't try to argue with me on that, Ms. Reficul—even though I am letting you help, but only to keep you out of any further trouble. Just because you're a devil doesn't mean you can do as you please."

"I-I said sorry," Reficul apologized nervously, hoping she wasn't getting on her nerves. "I gave you my word that I'll back off after tonight."

"I'm aware of that," Macarona said as Robin and Leonidas stepped in the elevator after she had switched to the camera watching it on the first floor. "Still, you'd better apologize to my boss for it," she then remarked before she lowered her voice so she could mutter under her breath even though Reficul could still hear her perfectly. "I swear…of all the people to offer help tonight, she has to make herself into a felon just to get in here."

The devil swallowed a lump in her throat and blushed in embarrassment as she tipped her head down in shame while fiddling with her fingers. Now Reficul was the one feeling shy, and it was not due to any issues with self-esteem—well, the breaking and entering would contribute to it to some extent, and she didn't feel confident enough to ask Macarona to stay mum—but rather her misconduct tonight reflected poorly on herself even though she had good intentions. She evidently did not think this through too well, and was now paying for her mistake.

Macarona caught this out of the corner of her eye and sighed in frustration. "Fine, sorry for screaming at you. Just don't make this a habit, okay?"

"Don't worry, I won't," Reficul replied, "and thank you."

"Alright," Macarona nodded with a deep breath, steeling herself for the following ten hours ahead of them, "let's just—" Though her voice died out as she felt a presence in the room with them. She felt her spine tingle somewhat, but Macarona wasn't afraid.

Reficul caught the angel's pause and looked at her in confusion. "Macarona?"

"Ms. Reficul…" Macarona calmly said she swiveled the chair around to face the presence. "Turn around, but don't scream. It's here with us," she finished as the devil did as she was told to find a misty figure with yellow eyes facing them. Macarona stood up and instinctively went over to the door and got ready to close it. "Close the other door when I tell you to," she instructed while Reficul nodded silently and followed the command. Neither of them took their eyes off the spirit.

Eventually the sound of mechanical footsteps running through the corridors alerted them to the presence of an animatronic speeding towards the security office as Macarona closed the door on her side. "Shut that door now," she said calmly as Reficul closed it so Leonidas could see they wouldn't let him in. It was at this moment when the ghost vanished, but banging inside the vents up in the ceiling indicated something else was in there.

"What was that?" Reficul inquired out of curiosity as Macarona whirled around and looked up to face the ventilation opening, holding her hand out for the flashlight.

"Give me the flashlight," she said and then accepted it from the devil. "Robin is up there. A little light in her eyes will make her withdraw and get out of there." Sure enough she was right, just as the other night guard said last night. Robin popped her face through the opening only to be blasted by the flashlight when Macarona switched it on. The animatronic quickly bolted through the ventilation system and came out in the jewelry workshop when Macarona switched the camera to it, having already made note of which vent shafts were close and easy to enter from out there.

Macarona and Reficul both breathed a sigh of relief as the angel gestured it was safe enough to open the doors. "Well, that was a little intense," the devil commented as they both sat down. "Is that what you'll be going through for the whole week?"

The angel nodded. "Yes, I must do this each night until six in the morning. It was easy at first, but now things are going to get much harder," she said as they began to focus on the cameras before them to watch the animatronics as the living three all piled into the painting workshop while Germain captured their attention. Macarona believed he was the leader of the pack.

"You've certainly got quite a hefty workload to deal with," Reficul remarked in admiration for everything Macarona went through on this job to protect her world. "I'm impressed you have the courage and perseverance to handle this on your own."

"Yeah, I'll need both to make it through the week," Macarona nodded again. "I only hope it won't get any worse than this, though I'll probably regret saying that sometime tonight or later on in the week." It was always calm before the storm after all, though Macarona was unaware that a hurricane was approaching. She was prepared for the worst, but didn't realize how awful it was.

…

**Angry Macarona is Scary Macarona! This was such a fun chapter to write because of how Macarona and Reficul interacted together. I actually planned this part out since it was hilarious imagining Macarona putting Reficul in her place. So yeah, more poking fun at the passing demon/devil like in **_Work is Never Done_**.**

**I'd cover the whole night, but this chapter has become quite long already. It's fifteen pages long in the word document, plus it's a nice change of pace from having gone through two whole nights so far, so not having to write the entire night this time was refreshing since this approach helped make the third night unique.**

**Let me be direct for a bit. I've said before that I've not played Five Nights at Freddy's, but I haven't clarified why. To be frank, playing the games in the series doesn't really interest me because they were very simple in functionality as all the player had to do was check the cameras and lights, close the doors, put on a mask, play a music box and some odd arcade games. Multitasking at its finest, so to speak, though that doesn't necessarily mean the series is bad; it's quite popular in fact and I can understand why because it is fun to play and has intriguing lore. I like the lore quite a bit in addition to speculation on it, but I find the series as a whole in terms of functionality to be simple at best despite the complex lore people like. **

**Playing each night in the game can be tediously long, especially when animatronics get you several times, which is why I'm trying to make the nights more alive. To simply write a chapter by repeatedly noting every occasion they show up can be boring at times because not much else is being covered aside from their every appearance and their casual walking around not doing much of anything. This is why I'm trying to add more personality to the ones in this story so there can be more to their characters than simple animatronic behavior displayed in the games. I'm not making them like humanoid characters that some other fans write about in their own fanfiction of the series because I feel that diverts from the original feel of the animatronics in Five Nights at Freddy's in my opinion.**

**Anyway, I've rambled on for quite a bit already, so I'll stop here for now. I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it.**


	7. Chapter Seven: Secrets of the Dead

It was half past six when Macarona rode up to Blancblack Castle with Reficul in tow, their hair blowing softly in the wind as a gentle morning breeze brushed past them. The young angel, in a state of exhaustion despite feeling awake enough to ride her bike, yawned as they stopped by the entrance to the courtyard. Turning her head to find the devil already asleep, Macarona sighed while softly poking Reficul's shoulder to wake her up. It had been a long, boring night for both of them because not much else happened very much aside from the animatronics constantly wanting to get in and flip the switch. Those things showed up frequently tonight, more so than on the other nights Macarona worked through, but together she and Reficul never let any of them in.

"Hey, wake up," Macarona said as she tapped the devil's shoulder, "we're here."

With a yawn, Reficul slowly opened her eyes and blinked rapidly as she stretched her arms in the air before disembarking from Macarona's bicycle. "Ah, we are indeed," she commented as she got off. "Thank you for the ride back. I would have likely located a patch of grass somewhere out here to rest had you not offered to escort me here."

"Yes, you're welcome," Macarona said as she prepared to leave. "Just remember your word and stay out of trouble next time," she chided strictly, but not too harshly either because they were both tired. Reficul winced slightly at the remark out of slight embarrassment and fear. She recalled getting yelled at by Macarona for her misconduct last night, and then she humiliatingly apologized to the angel's boss while explaining her actions. At least Xerxes was alright with it and understood her intentions behind it, but he still took the same stance as Macarona and said the same thing.

The demon curator had actually stopped by this morning instead of Crona with a comment that she had to help her uncle with preparation for a grave because a funeral was being held for a small family of angels. From that remark Macarona inferred the uncle was a grave digger over at the cemetery where she planned to visit later in the afternoon following a trip back to the museum. She wanted to meet with the previous curator and speak with him regarding the animatronics and why their old systems were left intact after the war. He was probably also willing to shed light on the angels from that time to clarify the connections better.

"Y-yes, I-I s-shall," Reficul stuttered slightly after swallowing a lump in her throat before she turned to make her way towards the castle's main doors. "Thanks again for the ride."

"Anytime," Macarona responded as she went her own way, peddling down the path to the village to head home. By the time she made it was already six forty-five, so Macarona placed her bike back in the shed and walked up to the front door, taking out her house key and inserting it into the lock to unlock the door. Stepping inside, the young angel sighed in relief as she tossed her lunchbox onto a hallway table with a mirror hanging on the wall above it and a few vases on the surface. Luckily none of them were hit even though the impact made them shake slightly, but the vases were safe. Macarona made a mental note to place the lunchbox back where it belonged later, but now she just wanted to get ready for bed and go to sleep.

Thus after showering, brushing her teeth, and changing into her pajamas, Macarona raised her arms up and yawned as she crawled into bed. Her eyelids, already heavy with fatigue from the long night, fluttered closed gradually as she fell asleep into a deep, peaceful snooze.

…

It hadn't been a day yet when Macarona returned to the museum for the first time in several days during the daytime instead of at night. The weather forecast on the radio said it was going to be cloudy today and tomorrow as well, but these clouds weren't cumulonimbus clouds indicating it wasn't going to rain today. At least until later or tomorrow if possible, but Macarona still brought her umbrella just in case, plus she liked the extra shade which made it cooler in warm temperatures. Very few children were out playing today, favoring indoor activities instead over boring outdoors in this kind of weather because it really was far better to play in bright settings than dark conditions. However, contrary to that were things such as scary stories and fireflies that made nights worthy of outdoor recreation in addition to afterhours exploration to admire the dark contrast with light.

Passing by several individuals going about their everyday business, the young angel walked closer to the gate as she observed the museum across the courtyard through its bars. Her memories of how lovely the building looked when she first came here this past Monday returned as Macarona compared them with the feelings of now. Back then everything was beautiful despite the odd rumor or two sprouting from the past from which anyone could extrapolate dark secrets allegedly about what had happened since it was first established. Now Macarona knew those rumors had elements of truth to them since she was made fully aware of the animatronics' former purpose as weapons. That old software in their systems rebooted at night, usually after eight o' clock until they started activating before eight last night; though that might have just been a one-time thing. Connections had also been established between Clarabella and the four other angels the animatronics were made to represent, but those links hardly lasted because according to Macarona's research there were no living descendants from the war related to those angels, including Clarabella herself.

Based on her deductions, there was only one individual angel she knew of who might know more about those relations: the museum's former curator. Xerxes had said his family still possessed the rights of ownership over the animatronics, so it was possible the previous curator could tell her more. Macarona knew it was a longshot, but it was all she had to work with right now because the investigation came to a halt in other directions aside from the cemetery which she believed would not be of much help as the tombstones there would likely only have their dates of birth and death with epitaphs honoring them for their contributions to the angels' war effort. This was an avenue, one of two remaining paths in fact, that led to the truth—a truth and probably other truths. She had to find something, or else her investigation would come to a halt.

Crossing through the gate's threshold, Macarona silently weaved her way through aisles of tables set up for a little flea market the museum appeared to be supporting. It was definitely on the property and some employees from inside provided aid while displaying some of their works from the museum, so Macarona felt she made the correct assumption about the flea market. Although the pieces sold by each vender were tempting her to purchase some things she could use as indoor decorations at home, she hadn't come here for those. Well, a purchase or two wouldn't hurt after she left en route to the cemetery, but for now she focused on her objective.

Climbing up the several steps to the front doors, Macarona opened them and stepped over the threshold as she made her way to the elevator, passing by more of the stalls that had also been set up in the lobby as well. "Perhaps I will take a quick look around for a few minutes before I go to the cemetery," she sighed and finally relented to that decision, supposing it wasn't a bad idea.

"Hey, you're Macarona, right?" a voice from beside her asked as she was waiting for the elevator to arrive from the second floor. Turning to face the person speaking to her, Macarona saw that it was Marcus, the angel in charge of the museum's sculpture department. "I thought that was you who walked in the door," he said as she nodded to confirm his inquiry. "I heard from Xerxes that you're handling the job pretty well all things considering."

"Yes," Macarona chuckled, "all things considering the animatronics and the ghost. I also started a little investigation into the museum's past to dig up some stuff on them, but I'm not going to be deterred from my work or the research I'm doing."

"You're diligent, I'll give you that," Marcus complimented her sense of responsibility. "It's a great trait to have. You can never tell when boredom will strike at any time. That's why you have come to check out the flea market, am I correct?"

Macarona shook her head. "Not at this moment, no, but I will skim through it in a little bit. I actually came to see the previous curator because Xerxes said he was supervising the repairs on Cleopatra. Would it be alright if I were to meet him?"

Marcus nodded as they stepped into the elevator. "Certainly, I don't mind. I'm actually on my way down to the basement to meet with him myself regarding the repairs. Xerxes would have come too, but he's preoccupied with a meeting with other employees and venders about their next venue here. The museum sponsors this event every season and some of our employees are in good standing with the vendors. What's interesting about it is how some of them are from other worlds, so you can usually find something exotic and unique on occasion."

"I'm sure I'll find something of interest there too," Macarona agreed as they both stepped out into the basement when the elevator descended there. "Now, Cleopatra is being repaired in the sculpture workshop which would be past the shutter door, correct?"

"Indeed, right this way," Marcus nodded in confirmation as he brought her to the door and inserted a key into the lock. "Xerxes also mentioned that you didn't had time to check out what's behind the door last night because of an intruder, right?"

"She intruded to offer her aid," Macarona clarified for him, "but I gave her a stern lecture about how not to provide help under circumstances of professionalism. Hopefully she'll keep out of trouble." Somewhere within the Grey Garden, Reficul sneezed at the reference to her. Macarona didn't really believe in that idea too much about how simply talking about somebody not present would make that person sneeze, but she was aware that it was a distinct possibility the devil really did sneeze. Perhaps Reficul was also suspicious of that as well.

In any case, because the otherworldly devil prevented her from getting a good look into the storage rooms, Macarona finally obtained the opportunity to check it out. Hopefully the meeting with the former curator and a small tour of the rooms would open doors to more clues concerning the museum's history. Although she doubted if there would be physical clues, there was a distinct possibility her introduction with the museum's previous curator would go quite smooth if he was willing to share whatever knowledge he had on the subject with her.

"Well, here we are," Marcus spoke up as he presented the storage rooms and the art records office to her. "You've seen these rooms on the security footage, so a direct tour in person may not be necessary because these spaces are just filled with crates of artwork, really. Nothing too exciting for that matter, but you can definitely come take a look at them when these pieces are on display."

"Thanks," Macarona replied as they both entered the hall en route to the sculpture storage, "I'll be sure to stop by sometime when I'm available. I'd love to see more works of art."

"You won't be disappointed then," the older angel remarked while they walked over to the place where Cleopatra was being fixed before Marcus called out to an elderly angel standing watch over the healer's maintenance. "Mr. Averniche, we're here," he said as the old man turned to face him while Macarona studied his appearance.

Mr. Averniche was, by simple standards, a wizened elder with a bald head full of wrinkles. His face was also bare of hair, and he wore a regular pair of trousers with suspenders keeping them held up, plus a brown plaid jacket over a red sweater with a tie around his collar. The boots on his feet suggested he spent his time outdoors in some kind of garden because they were stained with dried dirt and mud, but all earthy filth aside, the boots were actually quite clean and did not track crud on the museum's floors as he walked on it.

"That you Marcus?" he responded in a raspy voice which also sounded quite firm and strict. "I thought I made it clear when I retired that these animatronics were supposed to be taken care of by the staff. Is there nobody among the faculty to ensure they function properly without breaking?"

"Sorry, sir," Marcus apologized as he bowed before Mr. Averniche, "this one was working fine until a couple of nights ago until Cleopatra smashed her head on the shutter door. We figured her system, particularly the older programming, was responsible for her software going haywire somehow because that's what was running at the time. An alternative explanation is that the current software was clashing with the older system," he explained as the older angel blew him off with a wave of his hand before he spoke up himself to set his own record straight.

"Spare me the details," Mr. Averniche said in a rude, critical tone. "Just excuses to replace the older software. You always go along those lines, especially after all the accidents. Incompetent night guards either leaving or having heart attacks or something. Not once has any of them spent a full week on duty, lazy louts. Nothing gets done at night because they slack off in life and death."

"With all due respect sir, it's disrespectful to speak of the dead and our staff like that. Here at the museum we strive to treat our employees as equals even after they've left us. You have also left us as well even though your departure was for a different reason. All we inquire of you besides supervising repairs on your animatronics is to treat others fairly with the proper respect," Marcus said as Mr. Averniche simply turned back to the maintenance on Cleopatra.

"Have your workers ever done anything noteworthy or of real value, Marcus?" he asked in a critically sarcastic tone. "True art is the instant and the everlasting. None of your staff has either."

"Please, sir," Marcus tried to be reasonable and polite with him, "you're missing the point I'm trying to make." Unfortunately, the elderly angel had no intention of listening to him.

"Has it not occurred to you that my only business running this museum was because it had been passed down to me by my mother? You should know by now that one of my ancestors knew Clarabella and worked under her as an executive back when this place was pure perfection. Now there is hardly anything or anyone of true value here in this day and age. I care not for the museum's fate now that it has fallen from grace; it can rot in hellfire for all I care."

Okay, so he wasn't directly related to Clarabella by blood. Macarona figured that when she learned how none of the five had descendants, but at least his ancestral connection was still there. "U-um, sorry to interrupt," she interjected after Marcus sighed in exasperated dissatisfaction while Mr. Averniche turned back to face her with an air of smug disgust.

"Eh? Who you be, whippersnapper? What, the museum started some 'bring your child to work' garbage or something?" he inquired coldly as Marcus shook his head to intervene on behalf of Macarona since he could tell she obviously didn't appreciate his attitude towards either of them.

"No, of course not, Mr. Averniche," he said while introducing her. "This is Macarona, she is our part time night guard for the week. She was just recently hired this past Monday."

"Pleased to meet you, sir," Macarona extended a hand to shake one of his, still trying to be polite even though she felt the man would most likely refuse her by maintaining this behavior. She had a real problem with that last night when Reficul came over unexpectedly to aid her and ignored the several warnings Macarona gave her. The devil was generally unresponsive until Macarona, in a fit of rage at having been treated like an annoyance for simply doing her job, screamed at her to finally get Reficul's attention even if that made the otherworldly devil afraid of her. Still, this man here was her elder, somebody different from Reficul even though she was also older than the young angel; though Mr. Averniche was a senior while the devil was a young woman. Macarona had to respect him because he was an elder, but she realized there were limits to that as well. "I've heard about you from Xerxes; he was the one who mentioned that you own the animatronics."

"That I do, lassie, that I do," Mr. Averniche nodded in agreement. "And as long as my kin hold the rights, they are not to be altered in any way, shape, or form whatsoever." He narrowed his eyes and leaned down to glare at her critically, removing a pair of glasses from his pocket to watch her more closely. "You're just a little girl, a mere fool of a lass. Shouldn't you be in school now?"

"It is spring break, sir," Macarona answered his inquiry, purposely disregarding his remark about her youth because of the cold tone the comment was delivered with. "Normally I would be having fun with my friends, but we decided to get part time jobs instead for a fundraising charity project we would like to do," she then explained as he brushed her off.

"Bah, you whippersnappers are always trying to replace your elders instead of knowing the placement assigned to you by society. You're a student, plain and simple. If not in school, you've got studying to do instead of early career development. Leave that to the older folk who shall put you in an occupation suitable for whatever your meager, fruitless, and useless talents and skills are so you may apply them there however your superiors wish."

Macarona sighed, evidently aware that getting through to Mr. Averniche would be difficult. Even so, she needed to know more about the museum's past and he was her only lead, so ignoring his discourtesy seemed like the best option as she changed the subject. "Anyway, since you were the previous curator, I was hoping you might know more about this place's past history. I've read that you were a descendent of an employee from the time when the war was ravaging our people while doing some research into the history, so I was wondering if it would be alright—"

"Denied," Mr. Averniche flat out rejected her inquiry without even looking at her, having already turned back to the maintenance on Cleopatra. "Instead of putting your nose where it doesn't belong, run off and let the smarter, more experienced adults handle affairs. Get the studying you're supposed to be doing done and go back to school," he said, turning to Marcus next as he addressed the executive. "Marcus, have Xerxes fire the brat now; she's not welcome here."

"Now see here, Mr. Averniche," Marcus defended her as he got in the old man's face. "You are no longer authorized to make that decision. Just because you're the previous curator does not mean you can go about laying off our employees on any whim you think of. Must we drag you out of the building by force and inform Miss Etihw and Mr. Kcalb of your blatant misconduct towards the staff again? You should apologize to Macarona for that remark."

"Bah, fine," Mr. Averniche relented reluctantly. "Just get my animatronic repaired so I can get back to my garden at home. And I've no need to apologize because she doesn't deserve it."

Marcus opened his mouth to protest once more, but Macarona placed a hand on his shoulder as she spoke up. "It is okay, Marcus. I understand he does not want me here, so I'll take my leave while you focus on getting Cleopatra fixed. Can you tell Xerxes I'll be back tonight for work?"

He nodded at her request with a small smile, glad the situation diffused itself even though he wasn't fond of the end result that occurred because of Mr. Averniche's selfishly cruel behavior. "Sure, I'll let him know later. Have a good day, Macarona, see you around."

"Thanks, you too," Macarona returned the remark as she left the sculpture storage and went through the other storage rooms just to see if anything peculiar was around. The art records office was locked, so Macarona couldn't proceed in there to examine the files and documents. Instead, a trip to the cemetery was now in order, but first came the flea market as a little break from research.

…

"Well, that was fun, if somewhat brief, shopping spree," Macarona said to herself just as she finished looking over the few souvenirs she purchased at the flea market which consisted of a vase from a foreign land known as the Tosatsu Kingdom, a small crystal sculpture constructed by a penguin named Peraco who came to the Grey Garden for a brief visit, and a book of mythological tales compiled by an otherworldly demon named Kurotsuno who was also visiting this world.

A light breeze brushed passed her as Macarona took a few steps towards the main gate of the cemetery with her bag of souvenirs, her blue scarf blowing in the wind as it whipped up fallen leaves. She looked up at the rusty sign hanging above the rickety gate which bore the words "Grey Garden Cemetery" that appeared so old that it was almost time to replace those letters and perhaps the gate too. This old fence clearly could use some maintenance like Cleopatra, but it appeared no ideas regarding repairs or replacement were implemented. Macarona could infer that much from how rusty the whole fence was as she pushed the gate forward and walked through into a small, stone overpass tunneling out into the cemetery grounds.

Crossing the bridge and sauntering casually into the graveyard, Macarona pulled out a pad with notes on it and turned to a page where she marked down the tombstone numbers from when she read through the books in Blancblack Castle. "Let's see," she muttered under her breath to no one in particular because it was directed at herself since nobody was around aside from some other civilians visiting the graves of loved ones claimed by death. "According to these numbers, what I am looking for is at the far end of the graveyard in this section over here, but where exactly is it?"

She slowly looked around at her surroundings and luckily found a bulletin board nearby on a small hill overlooking the entire cemetery—or at least this area of it. Walking up to it, Macarona placed a finger against as she traced the location of the tombstones she was looking for from where she stood now. "Got it," she said after successfully finding the spot where they were, "by the Haunted Forest, just on the outskirts of the trees. I guess the spirits there prefer to wander the forest from time to time." That was one possible theory why the Haunted Forest was inhabited by ghosts.

Macarona recalled when she and her friends once entered those haunted woods when they saw the shady loser and a flame bat and followed them until Wodahs interrupted their search with an instruction to return home while he took up the investigation. Then he was captured by Ivlis on duty and endured rigorous torture during his imprisonment before Reficul freed him and then them.

Fortunately, she did not have to enter those forsaken woods and weave through foreboding trees that had a sinister air to them which one could feel from within. Even so, Macarona was not comfortable with the idea of being watched from inside the Haunted Forest. Ghosts could come to the outskirts and try to lure unsuspecting victims to an unsavory end so the victims wouldn't escape with their lives when trapped. If they did flee, however, they learned a valuable lesson that they were to never return there again or try to ignore the spirits' summons if they had to go back. The very thought was enough to make Macarona shudder, but she wasn't going to run.

"Right," she said softly while making the long trek down to the Haunted Woods' outskirts. "I'll just get this done and return home for work. I do wonder when the other night guard will meet me, though." That individual agreed to find her, but Macarona wasn't sure how if this person didn't know her schedule for the week. There were many other night guards who worked at the museum before her, so one of them would have had to follow her around to get a good idea of where she'd go. It was also possible the night guard helping her was actually Crona, which made sense because the young angel had come to the cemetery where her uncle supposedly worked. That was actually an assumption Macarona made, but one that was not altogether grounded in fiction.

It was a quiet, solitary walk to the old section of the graveyard. Macarona saw several other angels and demons walking among the tombstones on their business with dead relatives buried in the ground. Those visitors she saw disappeared over the hills and far away the further she continued into the cemetery. Soon Macarona was all alone with no other living presences for company. The graves of the sleeping dead were all that offered her such company on this stroll as she ambled to the space reserved for those slain in the war. Once she felt like she was being watched from behind when the Haunted Forest wasn't even close by, but Macarona assumed it was just another passerby coming to see their ancestors and departed loved ones, or the former night guard observing her.

Eventually she reached the location where the graves were and started strolling among the aisles of graves surrounding her in search of the angels involved with Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts. Macarona took many paces until she stumbled upon the tombstones for them in several spots dotting the area, but unfortunately, this avenue came to an end. For one thing, the markers in this part of the cemetery were faded to a point where they were illegible apart from the names. Yet another complication was the absence of Germain's tombstone which was somehow missing from where it was supposed to be. Macarona checked her notes to confirm the grave's number was just as she found it, but there was no marker for the wizened mage. Placing a finger upon her chin just as she considered how that might be, hypothesizing that Germain was buried by his old home, she was suddenly startled slightly by a voice that spoke up from behind her to confirm its absence.

"You won't find that particular tombstone here. I should know, my uncle and I looked for it on our own search one time when we were making rounds to record the deceased."

"Crona!" Macarona exclaimed as she whirled around to find the museum's day guard near some of the other graves. "So you were the one watching me!"

"Perceptive," the demon remarked as the wind brushed against her black scarf that whipped about her military uniform while she stepped closer to stand beside the angel. It was but one word, but that was all Macarona needed to confirm her suspicion of being watched. They stood together silently for a few moments, watching the spot where Germain's grave was supposed to be until the demon spoke up again. "I always found it odd that one of the animatronics was based on an angel with an unmarked grave," Crona commented, their eyes still on the patch of grass where the grave for a different angel stood. "Walking among these tombstones gives one the sense they are ambling about what's left of a battlefield. You no longer see corpses or smell their rotting stench as they all decay, but you can remember them, recall their deaths, and feel them as if their bodies were all aboveground instead of being buried six feet under."

"Indeed," Macarona nodded in agreement since there was wisdom in the demon's words. Perhaps Crona liked to delve into philosophy from time to time.

"One can only ponder if these poor souls transcend to an afterlife," Crona continued, "or remain trapped in their cadavers for eternity until a time when they might rise from the grave. It is a morbid thought, yes, but what else does a soul do when the flesh has passed and the spirit is still strong? Can the soul ever break free from its rotten, fleshy prison to pass on, or are they tormented by memories and thoughts of how they met their end in life?" She closed her eyes and sighed, the wind blowing leaves past them as she went on. "I have often found myself wandering this hallowed soil at times by day or night, just strolling among the graves of the dead I call my neighbors. Words alone cannot express how I feel, for they never come. All I can do is keep walking amongst these tombstones and acknowledge their presence as I feel their spirits in this sacred place while recalling the sacrifices they made for our respective people. The only thing left is to hope this peace between us will last forever and never be engulfed by another bloodbath and other horrors of war."

They stood in silence for a few more seconds to honor the dead as they silently prayed for the departed souls to find peace before Macarona turned to Crona. "That was quite philosophically insightful," she complimented the demon's intelligence and poetic prose in her delivery of that one statement. "You must be very educated to know so much about death."

"Living amongst the dead does that to one's grasp of life and death," Crona stated, turning towards the angel beside her. "My uncle and I tend to these grounds, though I work as a day guard at the museum as well to help support us. It is just the two of us with no living neighbors in this part of the Grey Garden either. Just the dead, my uncle, and I."

"So there is nobody living right next door whom you can interact with more effectively?" Macarona inquired to which Crona responded by shaking her head.

"If by next door, you mean the living, then no. My uncle and I live alone in this part of the world, just on the far side of the cemetery from where we are, but not close to civilization either." She turned to an old path shaded on either side by the shadows of overgrown bushes and trees, and there was so much grass that nobody could really see the way that much. It looked more like the entrance into a forest like the Haunted Forest, a foreboding bridge from the last vestiges of society to fearful isolation. "Come on," Crona beckoned the angel to follow her, "we have work to do, so let's get down to business. I'm sure you understand what I mean and why I'm here."

Macarona nodded as she realized exactly what the demon meant by her last statement. She suspected Crona was likely the night guard calling her because the pieces pointed to her as such, and now Macarona finally lined them up perfectly. The fact that the former night guard worked the job before her, that Crona was the only night guard left with the museum even though she changed positions, the stolen tapes, how Crona knew about her doing the second night. Every clue concerning the caller's identity now revealed who it really was, and Macarona was glad she made an ally in Crona so they could tackle this mystery together.

Without even the faintest sense of trepidation, she eagerly followed the older girl down the path and into a small glade which they crossed to reach another part of the graveyard. As Macarona emerged from a bit of undergrowth concealing this little shortcut Crona led her through, she found herself amazed at the sight of a beautiful two-story house with a small garret tower visible from a short distance away. The home was rather rustic in nature, and the establishment looked very much like a farmhouse one might find if they went further out into the Grey Garden's countryside where rural folk lived and made their living selling some of their organic crops to the food store. Smoke billowed from a chimney stack on the side opposite the garret tower, indicating somebody was in the building unless Crona's uncle happened to be out, meaning she must've put the fire out before leaving to pick up Macarona and lead her to the house the demon called home.

As the demon led her to the porch, Crona pulled the screen door towards her and pushed an inner door behind it open before stepping inside. "Make yourself at home, Macarona," she said while gesturing to the living room where the fireplace was located. "We can skip the introductions and pleasantries to get straight to the point," she added while heading into the kitchen to prepare a tea set. "I already know who you are as I've seen the contract you signed while I was rummaging through Xerxes' office for anything concerning what's going on at the museum."

"Does Xerxes know you're doing that?" Macarona called out to the demon as she sat down in a chair by the fire and placed the souvenirs down after taking off her scarf and light jacket while gazing around the room at the few bookcases and decorative vases lining the tables in addition to some tablemats and doilies among other things anyone could find in an old home like this one.

"No, thankfully he's unaware," Crona answered from within the kitchen. "I said last night I don't want anyone else involved so they don't get hurt, and I mean it. He wouldn't mind if I were to get caught in the act since he's a nice guy, but I'd rather leave everyone else out of it." Coming out of the kitchen now, Crona walked over to a table in between the chairs they were using and set the tea set down on it before sitting. "Ironic how I want to unite others against the animatronics, I find myself having warned you away from them while keeping myself aloof from others," she said before sighing as she poured Macarona a cup of tea before doing the same for her own cup.

"That's quite alright, I understand," Macarona responded after taking a sip of the tea. "It's hard to convince others of the necessity of things like this situation we found ourselves in. I should know, I was actually terrified of doing something that saved our world from evil."

"And it's thanks to your efforts that the Grey Garden still lives peacefully," Crona stated as she took a sip of tea. "Though you'll have to pardon my bluntness as I don't to be rude, though I still find it hard to believe someone as young as you was able to play a major role in that whole affair. I mean nothing by it as my uncle and I were taking refuge in the cellar when it happened, so we know very little about what actually happened."

"It is fine," Macarona assured her as she gave a brief summary of the events that transpired when Ivlis invaded. "Basically a devil from another world named Ivlis sought Mr. Kcalb's power for himself and attacked our world to get to him. Fortunately, my friends and I were there to help stop him and save the Grey Garden. Now everything is peaceful again."

"And yet that peace is now being threatened again by the animatronics," Crona finished it for her guest. "Though not to the same degree as this 'Ivlis' person, nor even on the same level as him, this is still a problem for us regardless of how you look at it. Tell me, what have you learned of this so far?" she inquired as Macarona removed the necessary information from her skirt pocket. She had folded up the list of former night guards and the web outline she made before taking them with the rest of her notes, and now she handed them over to Crona so the demon could check them.

"Interesting…" Crona then remarked after skimming over the notes and used a pencil she took out of a pocket to mark crucial points. "From what I can infer, the important points we should focus on are the issues pertaining to this lone payment from the church to the museum and how Germain was involved with Clarabella. Based on your research so far, we already know he possibly suggested the lighthouse as a location to paint Leonidas' portrait, so I suspect he might also know the warrior as well," she said as Macarona nodded in agreement.

"Right, but the only person who could likely provide us with more details is Mr. Averniche, the former curator; though I don't think he'll accommodate our investigation."

"Do not worry about that," Crona remarked as they both finished their tea. "I have prepared something that could persuade him to spill the beans on this. If you'll follow me, I shall take you down into our basement where I've prepared something else to show you. However, I must warn you first that this is going to be morbid, so hopefully you have a strong stomach."

"I do, despite having a weak constitution," Macarona said as she set the empty tea cup on the tray. "I've seen blood and bad wounds before during Ivlis' invasion, so I'm set for anything in store concerning this sort of thing." She stood up and politely gestured for Crona to take the lead. "Well, after you," she said with a bow to show her respect for her host.

Crona nodded. "Indeed," she commented while turning to walk back out into the hall over to a door just under the stairs to the second floor. Pulling it open before crossing the threshold, she sauntered down a set of creaky, wooden stairs with Macarona in tow to a little morgue for the dead. "This morgue is for storing the deceased until their caskets are constructed in the woodshop over there," she explained while pointing to a door over on the right wall. "Xerxes must've mentioned that I had to help with some funeral service my uncle was attending, but that was a lie I had to feed him so he wouldn't suspect what we were really up to."

"Judging from these stretchers you've got here," Macarona surmised, walking towards one which had a large cloth covering it like the others, "I'd say you've dug a couple corpses from their graves in the cemetery. Though why are they important?"

Crona nodded again to confirm her theory. "Right, but these are not just anyone's remains. These come from the graves of two angels whose images and legacies live on in the animatronics."

"I see," Macarona simply nodded and closed the ring and pinkie fingers on her left hand to place the open ones on her chin as Crona stepped over to the woodshop door.

"Now I shall introduce you to my uncle," the demon said as she raised her fist to knock on the door. "He can further elaborate on this little mystery, at least with regards to matters pertaining to these corpses." She turned to the door and knocked on it twice. "Uncle Flavio, it's time," Crona called lightly before some sounds were heard from the other side of the door before it opened and an old demon who seemed to be somewhere around the same age as Mr. Averniche stepped out.

Attired in a pair of old jeans, brown boots, and a regular white t-shirt with a red and green plaid shirt over it, Flavio emanated a much friendlier vibe than the other Macarona spoke to at the museum. Like the wizened angel, his head was also bald. Flavio also wore a pair of black circled glasses over his eyes which radiated with a sparkle of youth not usually expected in old timers like him. "Ah, yes," he said jubilantly while striding towards the guest his niece invited over, "so you are Macarona, the young lass Crona made such good friends with. She told me plenty concerning you, you know? I do apologize for her bluntness over the phone and all, though I can't bring myself to reprimand her for it. The trait is part of her charm, after all, very much like her mother." He held out a hand, offering it to the young angel as she took the invitation to shake hands with him.

"I'm sure it is," Macarona closed her eyes as she agreed with him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Flavio. I shall do my best to help your niece in the endeavor."

"Yes, with the introduction out of the way," Crona politely cut the exchange as brief as it was, "it's about time we get down to business. Uncle Flavio, if you would please be so kind."

Taking that as his cue to stop beating around the bush, Flavio looked at his niece and smiled at her. "But of course," he said while ambling over to a nearby table to get some plastic gloves and surgical tools, "anything to help my lovely niece find closure for her bad scares." Macarona made the assumption that Crona was also scared out of her wits by the ghost and maybe the animatronics too, and a casual glance towards the young demon confirmed it when Crona nodded to validate it as she crossed her arms and shuddered nervously momentarily as Flavio began his role.

"Now, the question we must ask is 'what do our two fellows here have to say?' As I'm sure you're well aware, there's a saying that dead men tell no tales, at least not in the literal sense unless one were to use necromancy, an art of magic popular among demons who use corpses as weapons. However, there is another way for the deceased to speak, and that's in an autopsy and postmortem analysis. In some worlds people allow the dead to rot away, but Lady Etihw and Lord Kcalb chose to protect their fallen comrades with a special spell to preserve their remains so they stay intact even after death has already claimed their souls."

Pulling back the cloth from one of the bodies to reveal it was none other than Leonidas as he was in life, Flavio took up a scalpel and pointed with it at the deceased angel whose rugged face looked quite peaceful as his body laid there on the stretcher. "For example, we know our very good friend, Leonidas, here was slain in battle against the demon, Cranber. He was given a burial fit for a hero like himself which conveyed both his military status and the pious life he sought to live. An autopsy was performed on him so his body could be waxed to look magnificent for the funeral and the wake. The proper medical procedure was carried out and successfully implemented effectively. Now ask yourselves this: if the proper way to open a corpse for an autopsy is to cut a vertical line down the body's chest, why is this cut here of all places?" At this he finished his explanation and cut back the military uniform Leonidas was buried in to reveal a horizontal cut across his chest on the upper half. "Come on over, girls, and take a closer look at this incision."

At his urging they both stepped over as Macarona's eyes widened at the incision's length. "What does this incision mean exactly?" she inquired as Flavio began another explanation.

"For starters, the horizontal incision was made following the autopsy," he said while going to another table to pick up a chart of soil age. "You may not have known this yet, but this cemetery was actually the very same one from after the war, so the soil is exactly the same as back then. It was established by Lord Kcalb and Lady Etihw to unite their respective graveyards together into one, so angels and demons buried following the war's end would be under the same soil. This chart here shows the surrounding area where these three angels were like a map; notice how, over in this spot where Leonidas' grave is, the soil covering the spot of our friend is of a different color than the other tombstones. The reason for this is because I analyzed the soil of his grave and discovered that it is actually slightly younger than the soil for all the other graves."

"Meaning?" Crona inquired as she pressed her uncle to proceed further down this avenue.

"Someone exhumed his body after he was buried," Flavio finished.

"But why?" Macarona inquired because she could not understand this development into an investigation that, just now, took a strange turn into becoming more and more of a conspiracy. "It doesn't make much sense to just pillage from a grave. Did the culprits want something in his body, or was there another reason for desecrating Leonidas' grave?"

"His heart is missing," Flavio responded to her inquiry. "Only that was taken, but for what purpose indeed. Someone only sought out the noble heart of our courageous warrior, and that one individual had a specific motive in mind when exhuming the corpse at the time. As this took place well into the past—by my calculations, probably a little after the war—I do not know what exactly that reasoning was. Yet I do know the same was done to Cleopatra as you'll see here," he went on while moving to the healer and uncovering her to reveal a similar incision on her chest. "However, the age of the soil above the casket demonstrated that her grave was undisturbed, leading one to a conclusion that her heart was taken prior to Cleopatra's burial. When and why are unknown at this point, but I reckon it was likely for the same reason as with ol' Leonidas here."

"Perhaps during her autopsy?" Macarona suggested as Flavio shrugged.

"Could be, maybe not," he said while looking at the time on a clock hanging on the wall to check how much longer they could keep making inquiries. "We don't have the bodies of the others, so at best this is all just an assumption; although, one with what appears to be a distinct pattern."

"Indeed," Crona agreed as she walked into another room for a few moments and came back out with some tapes. "Sorry, Macarona, but I'm afraid we don't have much more time today. You have work coming up later, so you'll need to prepare for it. Before you leave, however, take these."

"Some of the missing tapes?" Macarona inquired out of curiosity as the demon nodded.

"Correct, but not all of them. These should convince Mr. Averniche of the dire threat these animatronics pose. They show the deaths of all the night guards who were killed by them."

Macarona suddenly realized what Crona was going to put the old angel through. Although she wanted him to acknowledge how dangerous the animatronics were too, she felt this was going to the extreme in accomplishing that endeavor. "But he's an old man," she countered the plan with that point. "Won't he get frightened and have a heart attack after watching several innocent people die?" Her question was a perfectly legitimate one that Crona and Flavio acknowledged with nods. However, the day guard merely sighed since she figured Macarona would have concerns with it.

"You don't know him as well as the other staff," she said while crossing her arms. "I spoke with him sometimes, and I know Xerxes and the other executives complained about his misconduct and even went so far as to report him to Miss Etihw and Mr. Kcalb. From what the other employees told me, Mr. Kcalb and Mr. Wodahs forced Mr. Averniche into retirement or else they were going to have him removed by legal force. Strangely enough, he easily backed down and immediately retired. I'm sure he doesn't want to shame himself by getting pulled from his job because it would reflect poorly on his status, but I think that there is another reason why he stepped down so quickly. He must be hiding something, something that could pertain to the museum's secrets, so you need to show him those tapes. If he chooses to disregard the horrible fates of the night guards who died, take those tapes to the castle and turn them over to Mr. Kcalb and Miss Etihw immediately."

Flavio nodded. "Although I'm not fond of it either, this could guarantee some results."

It seemed Macarona had little choice in the matter. She didn't like it, but felt there was no other option but to go along with Crona's plan. "Alright," she finally consented, "I'm in." She was putting herself in further risk by agreeing to it, but she came this far and sought to see it all through to the end. Macarona was just that committed to the job and the investigation. "Oh, before I forget, what was that thing you said about when this happened?"

"Desecration of Leonidas' grave, or the incision on his body?" Flavio inquired.

"Both," Macarona answered simply as the demon put a hand to his chin to think about it.

"Hmmm…if my own assumption is correct, I would say the two incidents occurred after the war as I already said. Don't get me wrong, the angels did use animatronics in the war, but who said anything about the four particular animatronics in the museum participating in combat?"

"I see," Macarona commented as she digested this new twist to the investigation, knowing that in all likelihood Flavio was probably correct because it could have been difficult to discern a specific animatronic from any others in the heat of battle. That definitely presented the notion that people nowadays saw those animatronics from a conception that they were just like others used in the war, so Macarona felt she should look into that a bit more by asking Miss Etihw about it.

"Is that all for now, Macarona, or is there anything else we can quickly tell you before you head out?" Crona asked as the angel shook her head.

"No thanks, that should be all for the time being," Macarona said while heading upstairs to leave with Crona following her to show the angel out.

"Good luck tonight," she said at the front door. "I'll call you later to check in on you at the usual time if that's alright with you, or would you like me to text you instead?"

"The call is fine," Macarona said as she left. "See you soon."

…

**References galore in this chapter! I've alluded to so many things in this chapter that I'll have to put in some more disclaimers for what those references are. Anyone familiar with Mogeko's works will recognize the Tosatsu Kingdom, Peraco, and Kurotsuno. I also alluded to a recent movie Liam Neeson was in called A Walk Among the Tombstones which is based on a book. In addition is a song I like called Over the Hills and Far Away that was produced by different artists with some possible different variations in the lyrics and instruments.**

**So just to clarify that last bit, Over the Hills and Far Away was originally a song from seventeenth century England with lyrics that changed as different artists including Thomas D'Urfey, John Gay, and George Farquhar played it, though the song is commonly associated with a nursery rhyme called Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son and a soundtrack album made by Sharpe. Contemporary artists also made songs with the same name, including Led Zeppelin, Nightwish, Gary Moore, Thyrfing, Saurom, The Mission, Percy Grainger, and Frederick Delius. The version I was thinking of is sung by Nightwish, Gary Moore, Thyrfing, Saurom, and Sonata Arctica. You can look this up on Wikipedia where I found this information; though Sonata Arctica wasn't mentioned on Wikipedia, so you can only find their version on YouTube or one of their soundtracks. As there are several different versions of this song, it's tricky to narrow the disclaimer for it to a specific figure, so I'll just allude to these many artists when I write the disclaimer after the author's notes.**

**And to finally confirm the night guard's identity, yes, it is indeed Crona as several of you may have suspected. Thanks for keeping mum on that in your reviews.**

**The fourth night is now approaching, and several more plot twists shall come with it. This story is shaping up pretty much exactly as I planned it to go, and I'm satisfied with that. I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoy writing it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea, Ice Scream, or Obsolete Dream; they were made by Mogeko. I also don't own A Walk Among the Tombstones; the movie is owned by Scott Frank, and the book the movie is based on is owned by Lawrence Block. I don't own Over the Hills and Far Away either; it's owned by all the aforementioned artists I spoke about above in the second paragraph of these author's notes.**


	8. Chapter Eight: The Fourth Night

If those first three nights were easy, Macarona had a strong suspicion tonight would be the turning point as the difficulty drastically spiked higher than before. It was a kindling sense of dread within her she fully acknowledged, but bravely proceeded in spite of it to protect her home. Though she did not know exactly what would go wrong, Macarona was in the process of steeling herself a good deal to prepare for anything that would potentially pose a serious threat. She knew the ghost and the animatronics were out to harm her at night, but all she could do was force those doors shut to prevent them from escaping after flipping the only obstacle in their way.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself for the fourth night, Macarona pedaled along the path towards the museum after having taken a short detour home to drop off the souvenirs and get a quick bite to eat before departing for her job. The wind nearly blew off her hat as she rode there, but Macarona caught it just in time to keep it from being stolen away by the gale which made her lunchbox rattle against the straw basket attached to the handle bars. She packed three sandwiches this time because her dinner was quite brief and she was still a little hungry, so the extra meal was going to give her extra energy to get through the night. It would be better if those sandwiches got her through in one piece unscathed, though Macarona knew that was determined by how she did instead of what she ate. Rawberry and Yosafire would wish for something like that.

"Figures they would want food for their survival in this kind of situation," she chuckled at the thought while approaching the gate. Disembarking from the bike, she strode through the gate as a gust of wind blew the creaky thing after it left her touch. Closing it behind her and the bicycle so the sound wouldn't bother people living in the nearby houses, Macarona sauntered to the stairs and ascended them after leaving the bike outside. The lights were still on and she did not see the ghost peering out at her from any of the windows this time, but perhaps it just couldn't find time to manifest itself into a misty form if not a full bodied apparition. Attempting to pull the doors open, Macarona realized they were locked and took the key from her pocket to unlock them before stepping inside to relock the doors behind her. "I guess Xerxes and the other employees aren't here tonight," she observed as she started walking through the lobby to turn the first floor lights off.

Checking her watch, Macarona saw it was five minutes to seven thirty when Crona would call her. She walked over to the elevator and pressed the button to open the door, noting the flicker of lights inside which she took as the ghost attempting to acquire energy to manifest. Stopping on the second floor, Macarona stepped out and walked over to the sculpture wing to shut off the lights there while catching a brief glimpse of Cleopatra's repaired form. She still looked the same as on the other nights, but upon closer examination even though she stood afar from the healer, Macarona observed slight movement coming from her body which made the angel tense up as a precaution so she could be ready to run if Cleopatra pursued her.

Though it didn't happen, at least not yet anyway. She still had the jewelry wing to do before going down into the basement, so Macarona turned around slowly and walked over there while in a state of intense focus to hear the healer's footsteps which never followed her. Even so, she could never be too careful. That was why she quickly turned from the jewelry wing after shutting off the lights, unaware that Germain quickly looked up to watch her leave before stepping off the platform. Luckily Macarona heard his movement and immediately quickened her own pace to the elevator. Pressing the button for the basement once she was inside, Macarona thought about how to handle the situation effectively now that at least one of them was active. She could leave all of the lights in the basement on for a time until it was safe enough to walk through and turn them off. It sounded like a safe idea, so she decided to go with it when the first floor call button lit up to suddenly break Macarona out of her train of thought as she turned slightly pale while awaiting what would happen.

"Leonidas and Robin appear to have activated as well," she surmised to herself and waited for the elevator door to open on that floor, hoping they were not violent. The fact they all woke up earlier last night when Reficul was here was strange, though it also denoted the sense of increasing difficulty in keeping them out of the security office so they wouldn't flip the switch. Bracing for a sudden conflict with the animatronics when the elevator door opened, Macarona put some thought into her escape from them. She would duck underneath them and then lure them all upstairs where she would fly over the railing and rush straight back to the elevator. It was foolproof for the most part aside from ducking, but she believed there was a chance it would work.

Stepping close to the back wall of the elevator, Macarona held her breath as she waited for the door to open…and released a sigh of relief when, after a few moments of staring at them, the animatronics did not attack. In fact, they appeared to have deactivated right at the door. Their eyes were closed and their heads were bent, so Macarona immediately pressed the basement button and let the door close completely while being careful by Robin and Leonidas. The light flickered again, but it didn't faze her as she stepped out into the corridor to rush towards the security office when Crona called. It was good to hear a familiar associate ring her up since it relieved some tension.

_"Hello, you there, Macarona?"_ the demon asked from the other end after Macarona picked up the call en route to the security office. _"Are the animatronics active early again like last night?"_

"Yes," the young angel answered as she stepped inside to place her lunchbox down while taking a seat at the desk in front of the security monitors, "they have indeed come alive, though it feels different than before for some reason."

_"How so?"_ Crona inquired as Macarona related what just happened to her.

"The first floor animatronics deactivated when the elevator door opened on the first floor on my way down to the basement. They pressed the call button for it, but did nothing afterwards."

_"You're lucky they went numb,"_ the former night guard commented as she started to give Macarona some tips. _"Now listen, I'm sure Xerxes told you already that if the generator supplying power to the basement goes out, the animatronics can get into the security office."_

"He mentioned the spare generator, yes, but I inferred that the power would go out if it was tampered with. Is there something I need to know about it?"

_"As a matter of fact, there is,"_ Crona assured her. _"You see, the two generators connect to one another, so both are able to restore power in the basement should it go out. Unfortunately, the basement generator cannot provide power to the first and second floor, so the museum will close early if we lose electricity up there. We're still open during the day, though, but I digress. Anyway, did you see a door with a sign on it saying 'generator room, maintenance only' in capital letters?"_

Macarona recalled seeing it in one of the corridors on her second night. "Yes, what of it?"

_"There are a couple of levers in there to transition the power from one generator to the other,"_ Crona explained as she continued speaking. _"They're both marked for what their purpose is, so you should figure it out quite easily. The door is locked, though, but I've left the key for it on the desk by the second floor footage. Just be careful if the animatronics are around, so be sure to lock that door behind you. Worst case scenario is you having to fix the whole generator which is not that complicated for even a novice at the craft. All you have to do is unscrew some screws and replace the battery with a fresh source of power—i.e. another battery. I left that under the table."_

Macarona turned her head while the demon spoke and picked up a key for the room Crona spoke of and checked under the table to find the battery there with a screwdriver on top. "Yeah, I see them," she remarked as she pocketed the key, "thanks for that."

_"No problem, but just remember to lock the door," _Crona reminded her briefly before she went on to another topic. _"I put some thought into our plan and have actually come up with a lead we might be able to follow. I just called an attendant in the castle to discern the location of where Germain's grave is and was told it is right by his house. Unfortunately, the guy could not pinpoint exactly where that was, though he did say that Miss Etihw saved that portion when she created the Grey Garden from pieces of the worlds she and Mr. Kcalb inhabited during the war. He also told me the only person who might know more about it is Mr. Averniche, so ask him about it too."_

Macarona nodded in agreement as she watched the first floor camera to find that Leonidas and Robin had not moved from their positions and were still dormant. The same occurred with the mage and healer when they stepped by the elevator too. "Alright, I'll get right on it tomorrow then. All of the animatronics appear to have shut down now and I can see them from one of the cameras on the first floor. Do you know if they have ever done that before?"

_"No, that is a strange behavioral trait I've not encountered or heard about. Keep an eye on them because something definitely doesn't feel right,"_ the demon advised her in addition to the suspicion she raised with that tidbit. _"Getting back to the plan, once we know the home's location you and I shall take a trip over and see what we can dig up. Depending on what we find, I might be joining you at the museum tomorrow night to look around for any additional clues we probably missed. I'll be doing that alone, so you've got to watch my back on the cameras and contact me on a walkie-talkie if the animatronics are close to my position, but don't bring anything up when they are nearby. Just let me know if they're coming, got it?"_

"Understood," Macarona replied before she and Crona said goodbye to one another after the demon wished her luck. "Okay," she then said with determination as she eyed the animatronics on the security footage, "time to get to work." It was going to be a long night like the others, though Macarona was prepared to handle it. She just had to keep her cool and everything would be fine if not entirely absent of concern or dread for a power outage.

Macarona wondered if the doors would stay open or closed if that were to happen, but she prayed for the latter to be safe. Taking a look at the ventilation shaft, she smiled at the sight of a sturdy steel mesh installed to prevent Robin from getting in. The archer posed quite a problem for her and Reficul on several occasions last night, so it was good that problem had been taken care of to prevent her from climbing through the vents in an attempt to break into a closed room. Even the smell was welcome since it seemed the ventilation was cleaned up to get rid of all that filth inside of it. It was a good scent, and Macarona could not help but take a whiff of it as the sweet, cool air passed through the vent shaft down into the security office. She closed her eyes to savor a bit of it for a few seconds and opened them again to see the misty ghost staring down at her from within the shaft. This did not disturb her so long as it remained passive in its aggression, but—and Macarona knew this was probably a bad idea she couldn't resist—she simply grabbed the flashlight and shone it up into the shaft. A cocky smile spread across her face as she taunted the spirit in this way until the ghost vanished into thin air. "What's wrong?" Macarona teased it. "Don't like—"

And then suddenly the lights went out because of a sudden power outage. "…the light?" Macarona face palmed and sighed, fully aware it happened because she had to get snarky. "Well, that's unfortunate," she said while getting up with the battery and screwdriver in hand. "Probably shouldn't have done that, but at least the elevator is inactive." Walking out of the security office, Macarona sauntered over to the designated door where the generators were and unlocked it before stepping inside. She placed the battery and screw driver on the floor as she took the main generator lever and pulled it up after lowering the secondary one to restore power. The lights went on right away and she smiled, glad to have solved that problem with Crona's help. It was probably a good idea to leave the battery and screw driver in here with the door locked, so Macarona did just that as she left the room and quickly walked back to the security office upon hearing the elevator come.

"Looks like they're here," she commented to herself while briefly turning her head to look in that direction. She checked her watch and saw it was seven forty-five, and the office was at the very end of this corridor. "Perfect, made it just in time," Macarona said as she finally reached the office and was about to step inside. "Now let's get these doors closed."

And just like that they were closed. The security office was safe and secure, and none of the animatronics were getting inside. Unfortunately, a significant problem arose the moment they both shut, sealing off all contact with the interior. An issue that not only made the night difficult, but a living hell as well which posed a grave threat to her life.

Macarona was standing outside the doors when they closed abruptly on her, trapping her in the dark recesses of the basement without any means of defending herself. The incident shocked her to such an extent that she nearly screamed as the power went out once again, forcing a state of perpetual darkness upon the lone occupant of the basement. It wouldn't have been so bad with the animatronics upstairs, but they were down here with her…and Macarona was unsure of how many there were: one, two, three, or the whole gang with the ghost.

She breathed heavily and swallowed heavily more out of instinct than fear, slowly turning to the corridor as she began to fully realize the situation in front of her. "A-alright, Macarona," she whispered to herself for a slight boost of confidence, "just get back to the generators and replace the battery. It's that simple." Yet it wasn't as simple as she would've liked to believe. Animatronic foes lurked somewhere in this darkness, and the apparition slunk within the shadows of it. All she had was a flashlight in hand shining through the black abyss that was the museum's basement. Her lunchbox was still in the security office with her cell phone, so she had no way of receiving help from Crona and her stomach would be absent of nourishment. Hopefully the growling inside of it would not attract the animatronics, but Macarona would much rather prefer dying of hunger than to them. She was on her own tonight, and for once she felt truly alone.

She stood completely still like a statue, or perhaps the animatronics when they were off. It was pitch black save for the flashlight's glow as the circle of light extended down to a corner and stopped there. Macarona strained her ears to listen for the animatronics, but couldn't hear them as if the whole pack somehow lost power too. "Perhaps they're somehow connected to the generators too," she guessed while beginning to slowly walk through the corridor, peering around the corner at Robin who stood dormant by the pottery workshop. "Only one way to find out," Macarona went on as she took several long, but cautious, steps towards Robin and gently patted the animatronic's left arm to determine if she would react. Fortunately, no movement was made. Even so, her theory of them being affected by the generators was still disproven because she recalled they were each on a separate, individual system which could still be charged through the generators.

Macarona sighed in relief as she crossed through the pottery workshop. Cleopatra stood in this corridor, just over by the security office. However, she wasn't facing in that direction because the healer's supposed gaze was towards the young angel. Macarona made note of her as she turned her head to look down the other end at the jewelry workshop with the generator room just outside of it. Germain blocked her way from the corridor, meaning the only way in was into the sculpture workshop and through the jewelry workshop. After waiting for a few moments to see if the two second floor animatronics were going to activate, Macarona stepped forward…

…and whirled around at the sound of a noise in the ventilation shaft on the opposite wall of the pottery workshop. Almost nothing was out of place, save for the removal of a steel mesh in the vent that was supposed to keep Robin out. The archer was also absent from view since she was easily seen in the doorway, yet now her presence vanished. Macarona knew Robin climbed up into the vents, but couldn't exactly fathom how when she could easily hear the mechanical footsteps in addition to the removal of that mesh. How was it taken off so silently and how was Robin stealthy?

Little did she know, however, that Cleopatra's eyes opened at this moment before the angel strode ahead of her. Macarona was unaware of this since she was she was focusing on the vents to hear Robin, so she didn't give the healer another thought of acknowledgement as she approached Germain with caution. Like with the archer, Macarona patted his arm to confirm he was dormant and turned to start walking into the sculpture wing when the mage's eyes suddenly jolted open as he unleashed a terrifying, mechanical screech that gave her quite a fright. It was so sudden that the poor girl yelped in fear and stumbled back against the doorframe, breathing heavily as her heartbeat spiked in her chest while she turned slightly pale. "Don't scare me like that!" Macarona hissed at him after a couple seconds of heavy breathing before she left. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Luckily the mage hadn't enacted upon his opportunity to harm her, so Macarona walked in the sculpture workshop unscathed; though her nerves were slightly shaken. Quickening her pace, she crossed the workshop with ease until the steel mesh in the ceiling above her crashed to the floor. It made such a loud sound that this too startled her as Macarona nearly screamed and shone the flashlight up at Robin to keep the archer in the vent. She almost tripped over her own feet in the process, but Macarona kept her footing firm and held the light on Robin with an expression of defiance spread across her face. "I'm not going to let you scare me like that again! Don't even think about coming out of there—no, do get down and stay put!" However, the archer had no intention of listening to her demands as she fled posthaste, leaving a bewildered Macarona standing there breathing heavily again. Only this time it was more out of her irritation at having been scared a second time, and she suspected there would be more to it. She was right upon hearing Germain and Cleopatra move around near the door she just entered, and she turned towards them to find they had deactivated again, except they both blocked the door.

If Macarona wanted to try getting by them, she could have made an attempt to. Yet snarky confidence got her into this and she needed to replace that battery, so there was no going back now when she was already closing in on her objective. The thought of quitting occurred to her, but she was halfway through the week already. It was best to just get through it and solve the mystery.

With a sigh of annoyance, Macarona turned around and made sure to keep an eye on them as she headed out into the corridor where things went from bad to worse as Leonidas screamed at her as he rushed towards the young angel before him. "Damn it!" Macarona swore under her breath when she heard him from the side closest to the security office and ran into the jewelry workshop with the warrior in pursuit. He was fast, she gave him that, but luckily the animatronic didn't make an effective turn and crashed headfirst into the doorframe before falling over. She turned her head to make sure he was down and found her attention suddenly caught by the painting of Germain as she passed by. It seemed as if everything in those couple moments happened in slow motion since Macarona felt she was not looking at a painting, but was making direct eye contact with the mage himself which unnerved the angel somewhat as if the barrier between art and reality was broken.

In the next second Macarona whipped her head away as she pulled out the key to the room, nearly dropping it when she stumbled after making a sharp turn. She could hear a scream from the warrior behind her as she rushed to insert the key into the lock. Unfortunately, more pressure was applied to the intensity when she heard screams from Cleopatra and Germain as well, and the duo of the second floor whipped around to scream at her as they approached Macarona just as she had unlocked the door and rushed in. She slammed it behind her and locked it before she was suddenly thrown backward when Leonidas crashed into the door this time, but she heard a loud fizzle from outside which seemed to indicate his system must have malfunctioned and broke from the second impact after the first weakened it. Perhaps his head fell off or a bit of the machinery inside it released a small, internal explosion that really short circuited the warrior.

Although Macarona attempted to regain her footing, her whole body was suddenly thrown against the wall as the flashlight fell from her grip and rolled across from her on the opposite side of the room. Despite being a bit disorientated from the attack, Macarona put two and two together when she realized there was a ventilation shaft in the ceiling she didn't see before because she did not look up earlier, and now Robin was with her. The archer screamed in rage with her bow drawn as she nocked an arrow and fired it at her target, but luckily Macarona dodged the shot when she propelled her body forward by pushing off the wall. She ducked under Robin's arm as the archer attempted to grab her neck, but tripped over the animatronic's leg as Robin quickly maneuvered it in front of Macarona. Falling to the floor, but quickly rolling over and grabbing the flashlight, she aimed the beaming, bright light at Robin as the animatronic screamed again before freezing solid.

"GET BACK IN THERE, YOU!" Macarona shouted loudly, hoping it would scare Robin away even though all she needed was the flashlight. "JUST STAY THE HELL BACK!"

She didn't need to yell any further. The archer already retreated into the vent as Macarona breathed heavily while her heartbeat spiked in her chest. A cold sweat trickled down her face as she trembled, struggling to stand with a hand pressed to her left side where she was struck. It hurt quite a lot and felt really sore as she hobbled over to the battery and picked it up, muttering small gasps of pain while she heaved it over to the generators and unscrewed the lid off of a steel plate marked with the word "battery" on it. "What kind of materials were used to build these things back then?" she rhetorically inquired to herself before providing a theorized answer. "Titanium?"

Macarona sighed, frustrated that things were getting really intense all of a sudden. She did not expect tonight to get out of hand with the animatronics becoming smarter and dangerous. Her initial belief was that their AI wasn't effective due to how old they were, though the preconception went out the window as she pressed a button so the primary generator could regain power. It took several minutes of agonizing pain which seriously hurt as Macarona struggled over to the wall and leaned against it while slumping to the floor. Her body sagged while her laborious breathing slowly quieted even though she was still in pain. "Damn…" she swore softly, taking slow, deep breaths to steady her frayed nerves and calm down. "That really hurt."

Raising her arm to look at her watch in the flashlight, Macarona noted it was eight twenty; thirty-five minutes had passed and she was already in a great deal of pain that kept hammering at her. She bet the side smashed by Robin was very sore from how it felt, and the skin would likely look very bruised. Hopefully she didn't get a hemorrhage whether it was internal or external. The poor girl would have examined it further, but then the lights finally came back on which made her sigh in relief. Unfortunately, as she suddenly realized, the animatronics were now starting to move away from the generator room outside as their footsteps started becoming distant in the corridors.

"A-ah, o-oww! Just great," Macarona muttered to herself as she staggered to her feet and ran to the door, ignoring her wounded side as she picked the key up off the floor from where it had landed and inserted it into the lock. "They're going to get out…oww…got to—tch!—get back to the security office." It took some effort, especially with Leonidas' broken body leaning against it, but she managed to get the door open just enough for her to slip out and rush to the office after she locked the door. Macarona could hear the elevator door opening, and she knew there wasn't much time left until they escaped. From her calculations, there were two there right now—Cleopatra and Germain—with Robin heading through the ventilation shaft to break into the office. She expected the archer to exit out of the door closest to the elevator so she could get there faster without having to climb through the vents, so Macarona headed straight for that one while the elevator ascended.

And sure enough, the doors were still closed and Robin had already flipped the switch. She saw the animatronic do it through the window and quickly ducked to hide so the archer wouldn't see her. When the door opened, Macarona ambushed Robin and fired the flashlight at her face to make her flee through the vent before she quickly flipped the switch again to reseal the entrance. Slumping down in the chair, she watched as the elevator door opened so the healer and mage could step out and walk to the main entrance. Their stride appeared to be confident from what she could tell by watching the security footage, but their pride soon turned to humiliation as the two of them screamed in rage. Even though Macarona couldn't hear it, their reaction was quite priceless. "Take that, animatronics," she boasted, having successfully prevented their escape. "I win."

Victorious over their defeat, Macarona sighed in relief and breathed heavily as she placed a hand to her side again. "Still hurts…" she winced after uttering a gasp of pain, "but I beat them." And that was all that mattered, but it wasn't finished because the night was not over yet. In fact, it was just beginning, and Macarona, despite being in excruciating pain from the archer's earlier assault, was ready for it. She just had to react quicker when they returned, but for now she opened her lunchbox and pulled out one of the sandwiches to celebrate her triumph.

What worried her though was what else the animatronics and the ghost had up their sleeve. This wasn't just some stray incident different from the formers' standard behavior; it was planned, that much was true. As Macarona ate the sandwich with gusto while she watched the footage, the idea of the ghost causing all this sounded more like it fit in with it instead of the animatronics. She had little scientific basis on which to prove it, but she knew two things for certain. First was their regular conduct as they usually approached the security office without the need for putting thought into their attempts because their AI was not customized to plan out anything for that. And second…

Second was the look of their eyes. Macarona saw it before when she ran into the room to restore power to the generator after the power went back out with her vulnerable. They all looked normal at first, but the first thing she immediately noticed was when the eyes changed from being normal mechanical eyes to black sockets of pure darkness with diluted, white pupils in the center. She saw it in Leonidas when he charged her; in Germain and Cleopatra when they approached her; and in Robin when she attacked her. At first Macarona believed the ghost possessed them as tools it could use to harm her and escape, but now she wasn't so sure. The apparition was involved, that much was verified; though that didn't explain why all four of them had different eyes. Their eyes were normal now from what Macarona saw when she ambushed the archer and while she watched the security footage of Cleopatra and Germain as they still stood by the door staring at the camera out of what she felt was rage, but suddenly the screen went dark and started flickering.

During the process their eyes returned to that dark, diluted white state as if they were staring directly into her soul through the camera. Macarona had to admit it was chilling as the phenomena made her shudder slightly, but what happened next defied explanation as words appeared on the screen. "Help us…you can't," she whispered aloud until the camera died, forcing Macarona to switch towards the other camera to watch the animatronics descend to the basement again while she checked the cameras for Robin. She found the archer standing in the sculpture workshop, and again the screen flickered. "It's us…save us," Macarona softly repeated the words that appeared as this camera also died like the other one as if this phenomenon took its toll on the cameras.

What was going on? Who needed her help? Were the animatronics somehow sending her a message, or were the souls of the four angels begging her for aid? Who was it that said she could not bring them aid as salvation to their plight?

Questions upon questions. Questions Macarona realized she didn't have answers to, though she knew someone who might: Mr. Averniche, the museum's former curator. Now she had another question to ask of him, so hopefully he had the answer to that and if not he could perhaps point her and Crona in the right direction so they could find answers.

Macarona winced at that thought. Crona was going to kill her for provoking things further.

…

Crona was not one for tardiness since she preferred punctuality over laziness, a trait some of the more laid back employees were guilty of on occasion. Even Xerxes himself was easygoing on that, and she would have chided them all for not taking their duties seriously when there were animatronic weapons on the prowl at night. If they had half a mind to perform their responsibilities and actually get something done aside from just displaying artwork and producing more pieces for the museum while accepting submissions from anyone who wanted to donate something, this place would surely ascend higher up the social ladder.

She heard the stories about Clarabella's long ago, how the Museum of Arts and Crafts was once an exquisite establishment adorning the angels' territory in the past. It was a majestic building far larger than the medium sized structure that stood before her as a small testament to its existence. With a small sigh as she ascended the steps while her watch struck six, the demon went into the museum and gazed around the lobby as three animatronics except Leonidas left the elevator.

Once upon a time, Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts was something more as its name indicated its powerful status among angelic civilization wasn't taken lightly. It was a heaven in of itself in the sense that there was an air of tranquility and peace, both of which were still present here in the present day Grey Garden. Although the structure she stood in was a fragment of what a place like this once was, the museum could have been better in Crona's eyes if it would expand upon its current foundation and develop further to become the museum of her stories and dreams. Her mother loved this place, and Crona understood why as she sometimes dreamed of walking up grey stairs portrayed in magnificent splendor to a museum beautiful on the outside and spectacular on the inside. It was her mother's dream, and so too had it become hers as she considered making that dream a reality if she were in charge.

Crona took a deep breath and sighed again as she made her way to the elevator, awash in memories of her mother before she passed. She had never known her father, but was once told he was a gardener for the museum until he passed away due to an illness which slowly ravaged him over time until he finally died. It must've been painful to go through, but his suffering ended when his soul passed on. All she knew of him were pictures of who he was, the man she never met or saw, but Crona was happy to call him her father.

Then came the day her mother died unexpectedly—at this very museum no less. Crona's mother served Miss Etihw in Blancblack Castle as an engineer who repaired technological devices. One day she went to the museum to examine the animatronics and study them to see if the same technology from back in the war—which was all disposed of because what was left of it had been destroyed—to see if it could be implemented for the castle. The next day her corpse emerged and passed through the main entrance in a body bag. How it happened was a mystery, but one Crona sought to uncover by working here. It was her reason to stay on the staff even after she first worked as a night guard, and the animatronics and that freaky spirit weren't going to scare her away. Not when she was coming close to the truth she'd been searching for since her mother's death.

She crossed her arms and tipped her head down in deep thought. Perhaps she should relate this to Macarona. It was only a day since they became partners, so Crona still had reservations on telling the whole truth as to why she was plodding ahead through the unknown. Yet the angel had been nothing but sincere with her in their conversations and seemed willing to help, so maybe she could share her own story with Macarona to build up a better level of trust in this partnership. This was worth a shot, and she felt positive the angel would understand since she appeared to be a nice girl. Crona initially didn't want to bring in someone as young as her into this, but Macarona came far in just one week alone and it wasn't even a full time job for that matter.

The elevator door opened and she stepped out into a well-lit basement, not having reached a decision yet as Macarona could back out of this at any time she wished. It was a blessing, really, a luxury Crona didn't have because she felt the need to protect the visitors and other staff from the animatronics. It was amazing Macarona went through each night by herself like some of the other night guards, but she was the first to go four whole nights without quitting. This was something to think about, but Crona was still unsure of what the angel might say later—or, if Macarona was still here, in just a minute since the demon was sauntering down to the security office.

"Macarona," she called out as she approached the security office, "are you still here?"

"Is that you, Crona?" she heard the young angel return the call from within the room. "Yes, I'm here, alright." Crona heard a grunt echo from inside and quickened her pace as Macarona went on speaking. "I'd get up to greet you, though I appear to be in a bit of pain." Her voice sounded a little fine, but the demon grew worried at the tone of it because it likely meant the angel was hurt. And sure enough Crona's suspicion was proven correct as she walked in to find Macarona still in the chair with a hand on her side. "A little help, please?" she chuckled sheepishly.

"What happened to you?" Crona asked as she approached and offered her hand to help the angel up. "You look like you've been hit with a sledgehammer."

"Robin kind of felt like that when she hit me," Macarona replied as the demon's eyes went wide with shock while the angel took her hand, becoming fearful the angel got injured on duty.

"She got in the office?!"

"No, no—well, technically she did and flipped the switch," Macarona explained briefly as she leaned on Crona for support, "but I was quick enough to get her out and flip it back."

Crona sighed in relief. "Well, I'm glad they're still in here," she said softly before glaring at the angel like a mother scolding her child. "However, you need to be concerned about your own safety too, Macarona. This is exactly why I warned you away from this place. Now talk about what happened last night. How did the archer attack you?"

"You remember when I mentioned how Leonidas and Robin deactivated at the elevator?" Macarona asked as the demon nodded to confirm she recalled it. "Well, I came down here and not much was out of the ordinary aside from them getting up early. I looked up in the vent above and saw the ghost staring at me," Here a small, sheepish smile spread across her face, "so I got a little snarky and shone the flashlight at it as I would've done with Robin. Then the power went out and I switched it to the primary generator like you said and came back as the animatronics were coming down, but the doors suddenly closed on their own in front of me."

"Then how did you get back in?!" Crona exclaimed in shock. "Surely not the vents, right?! You would have had to avoid the animatronics throughout the whole night!"

Macarona opened her mouth to speak, but a sharp pang of pain jolted through her body as she shifted her weight against the demon who sighed in irritation as she helped the angel back into the chair. "Hold still and just sit tight," Crona said as she began to channel through what little of a bit of magic power she had within her. "As the day guard, I'm to be equipped with a healing spell to aid the museum's nurses whenever something like this arises. Just continue your story while I do this." Macarona nodded as she felt a wave of soothing energy flow over the large bruise on her.

"You're right, I did avoid them," she continued her explanation, "but the power went out again and they were actually deactivated, so I thought they wouldn't be any trouble. I guess I was wrong about that even though I still expected them to turn on at some point, which they did. Robin was still asleep in the hall when I passed through the pottery workshop since she was blocking the hallway, and so were Germain and Cleopatra. The two of them were on either end of the hallway on the other side, but the sculpture workshop was left open. That was when I heard Robin enter a vent before I strode up to the mage and checked to see if he was active like I did with the archer. I was prepared to be attacked, but he gave me a very bad scare when he suddenly screamed."

"So did he attack you?" Crona inquired out of concern as Macarona shook her head.

"Nope, he still stood there, but Robin scared me again when she nearly came out of a vent in the sculpture workshop. Luckily I had the flashlight with me and forced her away, but Leonidas chased me to the generator room and crashed into the jewelry workshop doorframe and the door to the generator room. He didn't survive the impact, but that was when Robin took me by surprise. I was actually off balance from when the warrior collided with the door, so she slammed me into a wall and tried to shoot me, but I was fast enough to get out of the way before she tripped me. It was a mistake on her part, really, because it helped me get the flashlight to shine at her. Then I did what else you instructed me to do to replace the battery."

"That was it, then?" Crona inquired as she finished the spell. "Nothing else happened last night?" She was hoping that was all Macarona went through, but at the same time she hoped there was more to this. More than anything right now she wanted to ask if Macarona felt anything odd besides that activity, especially since she herself felt something…strange this morning after a bad dream. Crona couldn't recall what it was about, but she believed it had to do with the museum.

"Yeah, there were a few odd occurrences," Macarona commented as she stood up and felt her side. "Thanks for the healing, by the way," she bowed her head and smiled to show gratitude. "But anyway, the second floor animatronics blocked the way I came into the sculpture workshop prior to Leonidas' pursuit, so I think what happened may have actually been planned. There was also an odd feeling of being watched by Germain's painting in the jewelry workshop as I ran into it. Though neither was anything like what their eyes became like for a few moments; I looked into their eyes and saw nothing but darkness and small, white pupils as if their regular eyes were gone and replaced with tiny white beads. This was in all of their eyes."

Crona's eyes widened slightly as Macarona relayed this final piece of information to her before the angel suddenly continued with it. "There were words too which I saw on the cameras that flickered when their eyes changed on the footage. The words were 'help us,' 'you can't,' 'it's us,' and 'save us.' I think the spirits of the angels called out to me for help, but another won't let me do something about it. Someone or something must be on to us."

All of a sudden Crona went pale as she shivered nervously. Macarona couldn't help but notice this and tried to say something, but a yawn was all that came out as she stretched her arms in the air. "You should get home and get some rest," the demon told her as the angel lowered her arms and opened her mouth to speak, but Crona kept going as if she knew what Macarona would say. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. You were the one who got attacked, not me, so I should be the one worried about you. Come on, I'll take you upstairs."

Although Macarona was worried about Crona because the demon looked pretty scared all of a sudden, she had to admit her coworker was right. She wanted to ask why she got spooked to try and comfort the demon, but Macarona figured she could ask her later.

…

**Well, that was a close call. I bet that had you wondering if the animatronics would get the chance to escape, and while they finally secured that opportunity, they still failed. You've also seen what Crona's motivation for working at the museum while investigation is, though there will be more to this revelation than meets the eye.**

**I just want to note that I couldn't have written the fourth night like this without some inspiration from Herostrain's SFM video, Last Night at Freddy's. However, I did not copy the idea because I wanted to write a chapter about Macarona being outside of the office when the animatronics were active ever since I started this story. I don't know if Herostrain had the same idea for Last Night at Freddy's around the same time I began writing the story, but at the time I did not have a clear picture of how I wanted to write night four. I guess minds much different from one another without being aware of the other can be like-minded about something as a coincidence. There are moments in this chapter that are strikingly similar to the video and others which are different, so it does make for a good comparison and contrast.**

**In any case, I would like to thank Herostrain for the inspiration. I've only watched a few of Herostrain's SFM videos, but I definitely recommend you watch them and subscribe to Herostrain's channel if you want if you have a YouTube account. I don't have a YouTube account myself, so I have no way of contacting Herostrain. The best I could do to give my thanks for inspiration is to point others to the channel and recommend the SFM videos.**

**Also, for those of you who might not know it yet, Five Nights at Freddy's 3 is out now! I was originally going to make that announcement in the previous chapter, but I forgot to. I guess you probably know that already by now since there are also videos of it on YouTube.**

**There are two last things I want to note. First, as I've brought up YouTube, I've read some comments on a few Five Nights at Freddy's videos and saw that some people didn't really like playing the games all that much. I suppose it's because of how simple the gameplay is and how the jump scares lose momentum over time, but the lore is still quite popular if I'm correct, even if the gameplay isn't.**

**Second, I realized that I haven't been spelling 'Gray' the way it is in the game's title. I've been spelling it with an 'e' instead of an 'a;' though to be fair, the difference between a variation in spelling this word is minor compared to some other words.**

**Edit: For some reason the links are only partly showing up, so I had to remove them. The special mention for Herostrain and Last Night at Freddy's is still up. Also, check out the spelling variations on Wikipedia; grey/gray is included there.**

**Edit: If Herostrain wants me to change the writing of this chapter so it can be different from Last Night at Freddy's, I'm willing to comply. However, I'm reluctant to taking down the whole chapter entirely because it completely skips a whole night and the story as a whole is already established so far. I've come quite a long way with this story, so it'd be a shame to remove part of it or the whole story from this site.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Last Night at Freddy's; it's an SFM video by Herostrain.**


	9. Chapter Nine: Project Dynol Peiriant

** Emperor853: That's quite alright, I don't mind since it's okay for people to not check some archives on this site on a frequent basis. I myself don't check some communities such as the Cthulhu Mythos all too often, so I know the feeling.**

** Concerning **_Work is Never Done_**, I'm glad you liked the story. The idea I had in mind when writing it was to get the message across that too much work can decrease time to have fun and write fanfiction. I know that quite well personally as I've not been very active in my writing due to other stuff that took up a lot of time, so I wasn't really in the mood to write anything. However, I have taken a personal resolution to write more even with other stuff going on as of this year, and I'm currently succeeding. Anyway, the point I wanted to make in **_Work is Never Done_** is all work and no play makes people dull—a common phrase/idea in society. Work is still important after all, but time has to be made for fun things like writing.**

** Also, thanks for the compliment on how I describe the settings. Too little of it can be a bane to writers because readers will not know what's really going on and where it's taking place in addition to who is involved. On the flip side, however, too much can overextend the plot and place dialogue all over the place so readers won't know what's going on. One has to be very careful when writing a story. Short stories may not require much description, but I imagine novelized stories like **_Seven Nights at Clarabella's_** need a balance so that description and dialogue can function well together to make a coherent story with multiple chapters.**

** Regarding **_Sick Day on the Night Shift_**, I can understand why you would disagree on the matter of how relations between the angels and demons would turn out. I said before in the author's notes of **_Work is Never Done_** that one possible punishment would be exile from the group, and that could be the case if Grora were to slaughter Ater. The angels and demons of the Grey Garden are tight knit as you say with the example of Kcalb and Etihw, so I agree that both sides won't likely break apart and fight amongst themselves once more. Still, exile might be Grora's punishment since it doesn't shatter their relations because it is sentencing her to leave the Grey Garden for her negative actions against Ater. **

**Your opinions are quite welcome, and I do encourage others to express them; though in a polite response instead of just flaming/trolling a story for whatever reason, but I realize that sometimes constructive criticism can be blunt at times. I hope you enjoy reading this story—well, continue reading it as I am responding to your previous review of **_Work is Never Done_** in chapter nine. I shall continue writing Grey Garden fanfiction as I've got a lot of ideas for it, though I will admit some ideas are pending since I may or may not write all of them. **

**I've also got a few ideas for Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea fanfiction, including a series of seven stories taking place after the game's true ending. I've made attempts at writing a couple series before for other games, but I wasn't successful with them. I'm not going to start them right away since I've got plenty of Grey Garden ideas I want to do first.**

**Anyway, like I said, I hope you enjoy reading this story as I enjoy writing it. It might not be perfect, but I think it is one of the best stories I've written so far.**

…

If Macarona could sum up what Mr. Averniche was like in a simple phrase, he was sort of like Ms. Greif. The cold demeanor was there, alright, though compared to her teacher, he was not as nice as her. Granted, her lessons were a tad difficult to comprehend and she was unforgiving to students who forgot their homework, but Ms. Greif wasn't that bad. Macarona liked her, so it was not nice of her to group the gryphon with a cranky angel who was mean to others. Not that it would bother her teacher, but she felt it best not to tell Ms. Greif about that comparison. Macarona could get in serious trouble if the gryphon took it the wrong way.

Unlike many of the other inhabitants in the Grey Garden who liked living among neighbors, he was the isolated type like Crona and Flavio. Mr. Averniche was not a social man by any means as her demon coworker informed her that he preferred the solace of his garden and library when they rode the elevator that morning. Crona was never invited to his home, but her uncle knew this guy personally. Flavio never got along with him due to Mr. Averniche's harsh behavior, but both men belonged to the same garden club held on a weekly basis at a lodge senior citizens gathered at. One of the rules was for members to host parties once per month at their homes, and Flavio knew Mr. Averniche from those social events because the angel never went to club meetings. From Crona's comment about how Mr. Averniche was too close to receiving the boot, Macarona inferred his several absences were the reason why he was being expelled from the garden club.

She steeled herself for the meeting at his house which Crona provided directions to before she left the museum. Mr. Averniche was not going to easily turn over the information they sought, so Macarona took a bag she got out of her attic and stored the tapes inside in case she really needed them. Although she had reservations about showing an old man how people—specifically the night guards who were slain by the animatronics—the plan depended on his willingness to comply. Long story short, the tapes were a necessary evil if the old man didn't cooperate. Macarona only hoped she didn't have to resort to showing him the footage because it could give him a heart attack from the fright of having to watch how several night guards met their grisly end.

As she approached the red, two-story home down at the end of a dirt path, Macarona could make out some people through one of the windows on the ground floor. A bunch of young angels and demons who appeared to be around Xerxes' age—she didn't know how old her boss was since she didn't ask him, but these guys inside were of a similar height—laughed while talking as they drank tea, water, coffee, and other sorts of beverages.

Her own attention was caught by the appearance of Mr. Averniche up on the second floor, banging the bottom of his cane on the floor to try and get their attention as one angel in particular yelled back up at him. This guy might have been the old man's son, and from what Macarona saw, she perceived they were not on very good terms with one another. He looked a lot friendlier than his father, so Macarona believed he would allow her in unless the old angel had a personal policy against visitors and meeting with anyone who came unannounced and uninvited. Still, it was worth a try, so what did she have to lose aside from being turned away at the door? Macarona needed the information concerning the museum's past and the animatronics, and only Mr. Averniche had it.

Stepping up to the household's main gate, Macarona pushed it forward as she crossed the stone threshold and closed the gate behind her before sauntering up to the front door and knocking twice to get the attention of whoever was nearby to answer her. A few seconds later the angel she saw shouting upstairs at Mr. Averniche opened the door and responded to Macarona's call. "Yes, who might you be?" he asked politely before noticing the badge on her sailor uniform. Macarona made sure to put it on so Mr. Averniche would recognize her from yesterday. "Ah, the night guard, I take it? I don't have any recollection of you coming by, so you must be new to the job, right?"

Macarona nodded. "Indeed, I'm working part time this week. Tonight is my fifth night, as a matter of fact, so I only have three shifts left. Have other night guards come by?"

"Yeah, mostly to complain about the low wages he pays them, but some other people have demanded he gives them closure. I suspect a couple of the employees died and they feel my dad is responsible for what happened. Are you doing an investigation for that on behalf of the museum?"

"Something of that nature, yes," Macarona answered, "though it's not really official since I just want to know what happened in the museum's past."

"Well, good luck with that. I heard there were some issues with the job, but Dad hasn't told me anything about it even though I heard he was forced to retire. He never did say why, though. I take it you're here to see him, so come right in. He's upstairs in his private library and is in a foul mood because I have friends over, so you'll have to pardon his attitude."

"That's alright, I won't be too long," Macarona said as he invited her in. "I only have some questions for him concerning the museum's history, that's all."

"Then feel free to ask away," the angel commented. "The library is the third door to your left when you head upstairs, just past the grandfather clock."

"Okay, thank you," Macarona bowed in appreciation before she followed his directions to find the private library where Mr. Averniche was. She knocked on the door twice, but received no response. Figuring that she was already welcomed into the home, she opted to just walk right in to speak with the older angel after waiting for a couple moments. Macarona found him sitting among piles of books and documents on two side tables next to a roundabout chair near a bureau desk in the corner, flipping through a catalogue of foliage for gardens which enraptured his gaze. Although she felt he noticed her presence as she walked through the door, Macarona believed he was actually ignoring her in favor of his catalogue. To get his attention, she cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Mr. Averniche, sir?"

No response.

"Mr. Averniche?"

Still no answer. Perhaps he was mostly deaf, or he could have just ignored her. Macarona wasn't sure which one it was, but she called a third and fourth time and he still didn't answer. This time Macarona sauntered towards him and gently tapped the pages of his book to make him look up at her. "Mr. Averniche?" she repeated a fifth time as he pulled out the glasses he had yesterday to get a better look at her while trying to recall who she was.

""What's that?" he inquired as he squinted before recognizing her. "Who are you?"

"My name's Macarona, sir," she said while bowing before him as a gesture of respect. "We met yesterday at the museum, if you don't recall who I am."

Mr. Averniche snorted. "Of course I know who you are, you fool of a lass. You're that brat Xerxes hired. If you're still adorning that badge upon your person, he must not have fired you yet. If you're here on business for the museum, you can forget it. I'm through with that locale unless it happens to require my full attention for maintenance on my animatronics."

Macarona shook her head. "No, sir, I'm here of my own accord for the museum. As I have said yesterday, I would like to know more about the museum's past."

"Then go learn about it in school and study it on your own!" he yelled in a raspy voice that indicated he already lost his patience with her. "Don't bother me with this nonsense if a center of academia will not teach you the history of our people. Just because I'm a relic of the past doesn't mean the youngins of the present can pester me with pointlessly trivial matters."

"With all due respect, sir, I have searched through every possible lead concerning this topic, but you are the only remaining connection to what happened in the past on account of your ancestry to it," Macarona explained, trying to maintain her patience with him. "I promise not to take up too much of your time if you'll allow me the opportunity to ask you some questions about it."

"Must I repeat myself, girl!" he scolded her harshly. "I already said no and told you to buzz off like the annoying gnat you are! Get out and let me return to my leisure! And on your way out you could chase off those blasted insects my good-for-nothing boy always has over. They're not a welcome party here and I've made it clear they should get out on numerous occasions, though the fools never bother to listen! I've even threatened to call out the castle authorities to arrest them!"

The old man was rambling now and Macarona felt this investigation was getting nowhere if he proved to be an obstacle preventing her and Crona from making any progress. She sighed in exasperation, placing a hand to her forehead as she tried to remain calm and collected amidst these longwinded remarks from an angel who had grown senile and coldhearted. Macarona felt she just might have to show him the tapes which she obviously didn't want to do. Those tapes were a last resort, and she didn't want to blackmail him either by threatening to take them to the castle.

"Please, Mr. Averniche," she asked politely in another attempt to handle this cordially. "I'd really appreciate it if you could at least give me a brief interview of the museum's past, and I won't bother you again if I received answers to the questions I have." Macarona expected him to counter that with an inquiry as to what would happen should he refuse, but it appeared Mr. Averniche was not the sort of man who took caution when in a situation like this. Maybe he just didn't realize yet the gravity of what was going on unless he just didn't care that much. Perhaps it was both, though Macarona was sure the content of the tapes would at least disturb him into helping her.

"I'd have appreciated it if you didn't bother me in the first place, and I'd would appreciate it if you would get the hell out now!" the old angel scolded her for interrupting his life. He looked very mad, but Macarona knew he couldn't do much in his present state. Mr. Averniche was an old man, so any hasty reactions on his part could cause pain on himself which he seemed aware of. It was an advantage on her part, but one she didn't enjoy utilizing for her benefit even if necessary.

Macarona sighed, taking notice of an old security monitor with an old logo of the museum on the side. A video player was perched atop it as the television rested atop a cart with some books on the second shelf. Walking to it, she grabbed the handle and pulled it towards Mr. Averniche as he protested against it. "What do you think you're doing?!" he shouted as he tried to get up and coughed, feeling his joints acting up at the sudden movement. "Put that back where it goes! You're not allowed to touch it!" His eyes widened slightly in surprise as he watched Macarona pull some tapes out of the bag she had, evidently recognizing them. "Those are from the museum! Where did you get those?! They're property of the museum, you little thief!"

"I'm going to ask nicely one more time," Macarona responded, turning to face the old man as she narrowed her eyes. She didn't want to do this, but it appeared she had no choice. "Please let me ask you some questions about the museum's history, otherwise I'm going to play a few of these tapes for you." It wasn't the scariest threat at face value, but the implications behind it suggested there was far more to this than one might've initially realized.

"What difference will those things make?" Mr. Averniche inquired critically as he further tested her patience. "They just show what goes on at night, so the tapes certainly will not convince me otherwise. You're just a thief who broke into the museum and stole them!" This accusation was false since Macarona didn't take them, but he assumed she did. It wasn't the point, however, and he was getting sidetracked from why she really had those tapes.

"You see these tapes?" Macarona inquired as she held one up to show him the date and the writing on it which was entitled as the death of a night guard at a particular time. "They show how several of the night guards were killed by YOUR animatronics, and need I remind you that some of them died while you were the curator and some died under your mother. As the museum was a property inherited from her, I'm assuming your ancestors involved with it all owned it as well, am I correct?" she argued as he nodded to confirm that his family really was a big part of the museum.

"You think I don't know my own family?!" he countered her argument poorly. "The night guards died, big deal. So what if the animatronics slew them? They only died because they weren't following proper procedure around them, so it's entirely their fault."

"You already saw the tapes?" Macarona asked, surprised to find him already aware of what his animatronic characters did. She remembered he did allude to their deaths, but not any specific mention was given to those animatronics as the cause of death.

"Of course I watched them! It was part of my duties as the curator!" the old angel admitted, still unaware of what he was getting into. Mr. Averniche's frail mind might not have realized this yet, but Macarona was definitely in a position to reveal those tapes to Mr. Kcalb and Miss Etihw. Acknowledging that was tricky for someone as old as he since his perception was off, so Macarona held the advantage over him and she knew it as much as she didn't like it.

"Then you would know that suppressing this information from the public is illegal and you are liable for criminal charges," she laid her final trump card on the table with the next statement. "Ergo, you're responsible for criminal negligence and the murder of several night guards who were in service for your family while they were in charge."

"I didn't murder anybody!" Mr. Averniche's face turned red when he became angry at the accusation thrown at him. "Their deaths were their own fault as I said!"

"Then you wouldn't mind if I turn the tapes over to Mr. Kcalb and Miss Etihw?"

His eyes widened again, this time in pure shock. "Wait, what?!"

"You claim the night guards are to blame and are kicking me out," Macarona explained as she walked to the door while putting the tapes back into the bag. "Perhaps I shall get in trouble for taking these without permission, but I know Xerxes wouldn't mind so long as it's to help the place and its staff out, and I'm also aware that should any legal action be taken against me, what happens will inevitably be of lesser significance compared to what's on these tapes. I know Miss Etihw and Mr. Kcalb personally, so I'm sure they will understand the intentions behind this."

"This is outrageous!" Mr. Averniche shouted as he struggled to get out of his chair, pain in his lower back forcing him to wince slightly while he righted himself. "You can't take those to the castle! It would ruin the reputation my family has built for generations! We'll be branded as scum of the criminal world based on the content of those tapes!"

"You should've thought about that before when you saw the first death under your watch," Macarona chided him as she opened the door to give him one final chance to surrender the needed information, otherwise it was to Blancblack Castle. "This is your last warning, and I do apologize for this, but it is the only option I have left to convince you to talk. If you want to save your family's reputation by repenting for so many deaths caused under their supervision, you can do so now by telling me what I need to know. If not, I'm leaving for the castle."

If there was ever a moment in all his life that left the old angel in shock, this was it. "T-this is blackmail!" Mr. Averniche cried out as Macarona sighed, her decision now made.

"Goodbye."

Mr. Averniche finally realized the mistake he made and reached a trembling arm out at the younger angel as she was just crossing the threshold. "W-wait, j-just hold on a minute. I-I'll talk, I'll talk. Just don't tell the authorities about this."

Macarona paused in the doorway and sighed again, this time in relief as she came back in and closed the door behind her. "Alright, let's begin," she remarked as she sat down in a chair by the closest windowsill. "Start by describing your ancestor's position while working for Clarabella. I mean whoever of your family tree who knew her first."

He sighed in relief as well, glad to have dodged an arrow on that one. "My great grandfather first worked for her as an artist before advancing to the position of an executive personally selected by Clarabella to receive the promotion. He was the head of her jewelry department."

"Okay, got it," Macarona replied after jotting this down on her notepad. "Was he aware of anything suspicious going on at the museum? Did he know the four angels who knew Clarabella?"

Mr. Averniche sighed once again, pressing his hands to his forehead and slouching over in exhaustion. He didn't seem to recognize just how deep this mystery was going to be. "Look, I do not know much about it personally. All I was left with was a deed to the museum and a will which said I was to prohibit anyone else viewing the tapes aside from myself and to keep a particular set of documents out of public view. I never read them myself since that was mentioned in the will as well, so I know nothing of what's been going on with this stuff."

"Fair enough," Macarona nodded as she held out her hand. "May I look at the documents?" she inquired through narrowed eyes, though this time they were not glaring at him in scorn. She was actually glad to have acquired the information from Mr. Averniche, even though she coerced it out by blackmailing him. That in of itself was illegal in the Grey Garden as well, and there were certainly going to be legal ramifications once this investigation was over since Macarona planned on coming clean how she conducted the search without alluding to Crona and the others involved so as to protect their privacy. It wouldn't help their credibility if she gave them up too despite hers being at risk for disclosing the conduct of her activities in the investigation.

"Fine," the old angel relented easily to this request, knowing the cover was blown from it. He walked over to the bureau and unlocked it with a key from a glass jar on the bookcase nearby, pulling out a folder from a draw and handing it to Macarona for her perusal. "Just be careful with those, they're still my property," he instructed as she examined the sealing tape.

"This isn't undone," Macarona remarked as she retrieved a letter opener from the table next to her chair. "Has anyone in your family ever went against the will to open it? And what happened to that will, by any chance? Is it still around somewhere?" she inquired, to which he took out said document from the bureau and gave it to her as well. "Thank you," she then said after taking it to examine the will for any other clues in it. There were none, unfortunately, but it did confirm what Mr. Averniche said about not viewing the other documents.

"If anyone had, would that tape still be intact?" he asked rhetorically with a sarcastic tone added to it. The old man was obviously pouting, upset that his family's treasured files were being rifled through by an outsider, someone who was intruding on their personal business all for a sake of an investigation. "Just open the damn folder and get this done quickly."

"Very well," Macarona nodded, using the letter opener to slowly cut through the tape while being gentle to avoid damaging the folder and the documents inside. It worked out much quicker than expected considering how old the tape was, but she was nonetheless successful as she opened the folder and took out the few files within it.

One of them was a map of the angels' territories during the war and prior to it with several marks on it. Names were written underneath each 'x', those names being Clarabella and the other four angels. From these locations, Macarona inferred they lived at the designated spots. Her next step was to correlate this finding with a map of the Grey Garden and someone with a geographical expertise to pinpoint which of the locations on this map were still around and where they were.

Another file was actually a letter addressed to Clarabella from Cleopatra of the church. It read: _"Due to the recent acquisition of funds for your museum, my superiors have assigned me to inquire as to how you received them. As of late, our treasury has lost a significant chunk of revenue and we are unsure why that is. At the same time, however, we discovered an identical amount that correlates to the recent earnings your establishment secured after our accountants thoroughly did a search through our economic records. We acquired the testimony of one employee whose name we shall obscure so as to protect his identity who claimed the funds were transitioned based on an alleged order from above citing the necessity to prepare an anonymous donation. This donation is unknown to us as the sender's identity is unknown, but this coincidence must be investigated at all costs. We hope you will cooperate with us to determine the source of your recent donation and the identity of the affiliated party who provided them to confirm if the same source took our funds."_

"This is the payment between the church and museum…" Macarona remarked casually as Mr. Averniche perked up, somehow familiar with what she was talking about.

"My great grandfather had nothing to do with that," he claimed as she looked up at him in confusion. "That was someone not associated with the museum."

"And how would you know?" the younger angel inquired suspiciously. "I thought you said you never looked at these documents as per the instructions left in that will."

The elderly angel sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead. She caught him in a contradiction he unintentionally made, though his next statement cleared that up. "What employee of the place wouldn't know? That scandal cost Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts much prestige back in my great grandfather's day. It was the largest incident of the museum's history, called the Theft of Donations back in the past. Only reason why it fell out of the history books was because the castle has all of the major accounts from angels and demons, sometimes keeping several out of the public eye except for occasional references which are purposely vague."

"So people in the present day are unaware of it," Macarona guessed as Mr. Averniche gave a nod to confirm her theory while she pulled out a third document. It was a form, one that was like others that required applicants to fill in boxes with specific information. This was by far the most mysterious of the three since many of those boxes were crossed over by black bars to indicate the information was confidential, but there were a few key pieces she found. First was specified funds which matched those removed from the church followed by the names of Clarabella and Germain. That established their connection together, apparently over this plan the two of them were involved in called Project Dynol Peiriant. Any information on this was suppressed by the confidential black bars, so Macarona couldn't discern more other than the price, who was involved, and the title that she spoke aloud so the words could roll off her tongue as she pronounced them. "Dynol Peiriant…"

"His idea," Mr. Averniche spoke up again to clarify a bit of that. "Nobody at the museum was involved in that aside from Clarabella. My great grandfather passed down an account of how the mage proposed a new method of warfare against the demons which a council headed by Miss Etihw rejected. He never heard the details of it from his associate on the council, but knew Germain sought its establishment. Clarabella was onboard with it due to her skill as an engineer, though he couldn't understand why when he knew she obviously distrusted the mage."

"Did he know the details of this project?" Macarona inquired as the old man shook his head in response before she asked another question. "Did anyone on that council approve of the idea, or was it unanimously turned down by everyone Germain proposed it to?"

"Unanimously rejected," Mr. Averniche replied as Macarona stood up and handed him the documents, except for the map which she still needed.

"Do you mind if I borrow this for a while? I'd like to find where these places are."

"If you're wondering where to find their residences," Mr. Averniche said, sighing in relief now that this brief interview was over, "you'll be sorry to hear that of all five angels, only Germain left his property intact with permission from Miss Etihw. I have a map of the Grey Garden, and do not bother asking for it; I planned on throwing that trash away anyway, so handing it over suits the respective purposes we have." He stepped towards another desk and took the map from a drawer. "Here, I've marked his old home for you," Mr. Averniche then said after putting an 'x' on the spot. "Now get out so I can forget this awful dialogue for good, and don't take those tapes to the castle."

"Very well, and thank you," Macarona bowed her head in gratitude and walked to the door. "I promise not to divulge the tapes to the authorities myself, though I cannot speak for my partner in this investigation. I shall speak with her about this and try to persuade her to leave it under a rug for the time being until you are willing to disclose what you've done to the authorities. However, if things become dire and something happens if the animatronics become violent around visitors and night guards alike, we might have to turn over the tapes."

She opened the door, but before stepping out into the hall she turned back to Mr. Averniche. "Consider this if you will. Would the honor of your family be spared further torment if you either go forth with these secrets and publicize them, or by keeping them confidential until someone else discovers them and realizes the criminal activity that is inherent within them? Think about it, sir; you may tarnish your family's reputation, but you can also save it from complete ruin if another party were to get a hold of this information by stepping forward with it instead. In doing so, you would start making amends for what is happening as you are the one taking the initiative to do it rather than have someone else draw attention to it."

"What's not to say you and this partner of yours won't come clean?" Mr. Averniche asked.

"I gave you my word, sir," Macarona reassured him, "and I am prepared to take the fall as well once this is over. Whether I am punished for it or not is not up to me to decide, but I'll see to it that I do at least receive some sort of penalty for my involvement."

And with that she left the elderly angel to his own thoughts on the matter and saw herself out after thanking Mr. Averniche's son for allowing her the time to speak with his father. Macarona learned more about that conspiracy which she felt actually did exist. The Theft of Donations and Project Dynol Peiriant were further evidence of that, and she was determined to learn more about these events as she and Crona explored the nooks and crannies of the mage's abode.

…

"And that's how it all went down," Macarona said as she finished her explanation.

"So you got it out of him through blackmail, eh?" Crona asked rhetorically as the two girls rode their bikes through the inner recesses of the Haunted Forest, carefully avoiding the spirits that dwelled among the trees around them. "I've got to admit, you don't look like one who would resort to shady dealings with others in exchange for what you seek. And are you sure we shouldn't bring in those tapes right away? What if those animatronics claim another victim?"

"Already taken care of," Macarona nodded, the breeze blowing their hair in the wind as the two of them started descending down a short hill en route to Germain's homestead. "I mentioned it to him before I left, so I'm sure he'll understand even if he doesn't accept or like it. Still, we got what we needed from him and can now make progress further into this conspiracy."

Crona nodded in agreement, neither of them taking their eyes off the path ahead of them in favor of paying attention rather than make distracting eye contact. It was just common sense when riding a bike. "At first I thought it was but a mere mystery, but the more I delve into this it begins to become more of just that than a simple case of who did what and why. There's more to this than we thought, and something hidden lurks within the confines of that museum and its strange past. I don't think it's just us, but those incidents you described are definitely connected somehow. It isn't just by the price or the suspects involved, but a much deeper component acting as its driving force throughout the affair. The Theft of Donations and Project Dynol Peiriant, Clarabella and Germain. Separate aspects disconnected from one another, but together they form part of the puzzle we are piecing together. Soon the past shall be illuminated to the present."

"Indeed," Macarona agreed with that assessment that became common now that they were going farther into the unknown to explain these events. "I suspect Germain's home will not be the pristine domicile we think of it as from our conception of the artwork depicting it. It is most likely abandoned and decrepit, left to rot in a state of decay so the world can lay claim to the last vestige of a man who served his peers with his knowledge of the arcane arts. What he has hid within those old walls should shed light on more elements of the conspiracy."

"I hope so," Crona said as they both took a right turn, narrowly avoiding the attention of a ghostly figure that nearly turned in their direction to face them. "Otherwise the museum is our last avenue. If we can't find anything, our objective is all for naught unless a miracle were to occur. It is farfetched, I know, but all we can do is hope and find more evidence wherever it may be."

While she was calm now as opposed to the fearful state earlier that day, Crona could not suppress thoughts of the dream she had the previous night. The demon shuddered and Macarona noticed it with the assumption that whatever bothered her friend was more than just the animatronic characters and the ghost. The way Crona reacted to her mention of the eyes and those words did not seem like a natural response—well, fear was a natural response, but that was beside the point. When Macarona brought the bizarre incidents up, it seemed Crona recognized them; that was the notion in her facial expression. Although she wanted to inquire into that, this morning wasn't the best time to ask; though now they were both fine, so putting that question forward could stimulate further conversation concerning how the demon felt about this.

"Hey, Crona," Macarona asked as her demon companion on this trip made a minor grunt of acknowledgement as a gesture of wondering what she wanted to ask. "Are you alright?"

It was the direct question that made her friend pause for several moments. Macarona didn't want to upset her and almost took back the inquiry when the demon eventually answered slowly.

"Y-yes, I-I'm fine," Crona responded uneasily with a deep breath and another shudder. "I will be, for now at least." She tried to compose herself, but the slight stutter when she began talking in addition to her somewhat frayed nerves demonstrated this issue was getting to her.

"Did something happen?" the angel inquired as the demon shrugged.

"Just a…bad dream I guess," she muttered softly, but loud enough for Macarona to hear as it worried the angel to see someone she now considered a friend tormented by nightmares. "From last night while you were working, in fact. I suppose the cat's out of the bag now."

"I'll listen," Macarona assured her calmly, wanting to provide Crona with some comfort if she could, "that is, if you wish to talk about it."

"It is fine, I don't mind," Crona responded somberly, gloomily sighing since she was afraid this would come up today. Not only that, but she figured now was actually the right moment for it to be let off her chest. Something deep inside told her that something wasn't right, and Crona knew instinctively she had to say something, otherwise this could have been left unsaid for nothing. She didn't know why exactly, but she just had this feeling that something was going to go wrong. The demon didn't know what it was, though she needed to tell Macarona about it before it was too late.

"When I was asleep last night," she began as her angelic companion paid close attention to what she had to say, "I had a dream—or some kind of nightmare if you might call it that. The eyes you had brought up earlier today back at the museum…They were staring at me in this dream. The words were there too, and I didn't understand their meaning aside from comprehending what their basic purpose was. Someone wants to be saved…Somebody wants us to save them…Someone is against helping whoever they are. I felt there was a deeper meaning in the message coming across, but when I tried to ponder on it further, the eyes all suddenly amalgamated into a pair of glowing yellow eyes as a misty apparition suddenly engulfed them. At once I knew it was the ghost we had encountered at the museum, and it attacked me. That was when I awoke in a cold sweat, breathing heavily in my bed as I convalesced from the terrible shock brought on by that dream."

Macarona merely watched Crona out of her peripheral vision, becoming gravely concerned that her friend really wasn't alright as she may have claimed to be. She could hear the fear on the demon's tone of voice when she spoke, and Crona started trembling and turned ashen when she recalled that dream. The demon did say it could be called a nightmare, and Macarona believed that was actually the case in this scenario. "Maybe it's stress," she tried debunking it so Crona could possibly feel better with this simple explanation. "You can go back if you want while I do a search of the house. If you need to rest, by all means have some."

Crona sighed, grateful for her friend's show of concern. She was glad to have made her as an ally and associate. "Perhaps…" she commented in a somber tone, "or perhaps not. I don't know anymore. Whether it's the pressure, or someone contacted us from beyond the grave…I can't tell." Crona snapped out of her reverie as they were approaching Germain's house. "There's the place."

Macarona's assessment of the property was quite accurate it seemed. This old building was falling apart as several large holes dominated the woodwork on a few sides with only a single wall left intact. Many window panes were broken, and the gable turret had fallen to the ground. Upon closer inspection as they pulled up, it appeared the house was actually starting to sink into the dirt below it which left them little time to explore since the whole place could have sunk at any time. How it stood for this long without having fallen into the ground despite falling into disrepair was a mystery; though Germain was a mage, so it made sense for him to use magic on his abode. What was more, concerning the garden at least, was that it too had not survived the test of time as it had completely vanished entirely and everything else that wasn't rooted to the ground was gone.

"That must be the lighthouse," Macarona commented on the form of a tall construct within the distance of the home, standing still amidst the late afternoon sky as clouds passed overhead. "I think the place must be wearing down as well, plus the cottage in the painting is no longer there. I guess it crumbled under the weight of age long ago. Will we find anything in the lighthouse?"

Crona shook her head. "I doubt it. All there is to the place now is just stairs and that room where a massive lightbulb used to light the way for ships passing by and coming for a visit to ports around the area. There is a small harbor by the outskirts of our world with a different lighthouse constructed over there. The place does business through trade with the Sea Kingdom if I'm correct, though I digress. Our reason for coming is to find more information on the conspiracy in Germain's house if any. We'll go in and conduct a thoroughly detailed search before heading to the museum, just stopping by my place first to prepare a few light snacks to keep us awake."

Macarona nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's begin," she said as the two of them entered the ruined abode and searched through all the rooms in a meticulous fashion. Not a stone was left unturned in their investigation, but nothing was found on the first and second floors. It seemed the house was truly empty, but a trip to the gable turret proved otherwise as the interior was filled with plenty of boxes, many of which were empty. However, there was small box which had a document in it that was none other than a copy of the Project Dynol Peiriant form Macarona read back at Mr. Averniche's house. Fortunately, this one was not blocked by black bars concealing information.

"This must be what we're looking for; although, it's not that much of what I expected," the demon stated casually as the two of them read over the information. The transaction of funds and the names of Clarabella and Germain were still there, but now they had a description of this project as well. _"A scientific undertaking into living machinery by powering animatronics with angelic life force to improve upon the mechanical weapons our people use. It's highly recommended to reduce casualties dealt in the war and increase percentages of success in obliterating demonic legions under the devil, Kcalb, that are harming our people. The main objective in securing peace for angels in this world is easily reached by a hundred percent with usage of this project."_

"So the animatronics are not ordinary machines," Macarona observed as they stood side by side looking at the form while taking in the other information written on it. "They are powered by angels—their lives, to be specific. Though I don't understand how that is possible. Clarabella was an engineer, and Germain was a mage. I understand he could easily apply his magic to animatronic weapons to significantly increase their effectiveness and functionality in combat, but why use other angels for that purpose? How could he possibly implement angelic lives into the equation?"

"Beats me," Crona said as she shrugged, "but take a look at this. Cleopatra and Robin aren't mentioned anywhere on this form, but Leonidas is. It says he was a great test subject."

Macarona nodded in understanding, putting two and two together on this. She recalled what Flavio had said about the warrior's remains getting exhumed so that his heart could be extracted through dissection. "So they sought to use the hearts of deceased angels to serve as a power source for mechanical weaponry. That must be why the old systems still work; it's because the hearts of these angels were placed inside of them. They stole his heart to power their equipment."

Crona nodded. "Indeed, and I imagine their souls must be angry about that—all except the mage, that is. I don't get why he would be upset if his heart was used as well, unless it is because he might feel his people betrayed what they once believed—that angels and demons always have to fight. I think he isn't aware of the peace our respective people made so we wouldn't suffer under the natural law of conflict between angels and demons."

"Surely there must be something we can do to help them," Macarona commented, looking towards Crona out of concern for the animatronics. "Perhaps if we return their hearts to their proper places and give them a proper burial. It should hopefully please their spirits."

"For Cleopatra and Leonidas, yes, but I'm not sure about Robin and Germain. The archer's remains were never recovered, plus we never saw a grave for the mage outside when we rode up," Crona explained briefly, her eyes never leaving the document. "I don't know if their souls will be appeased because we have no conclusive evidence that their hearts were also experimented on. I'll wager that Cleopatra discovered what was happening and she was killed to keep the project out of the public's sight so it wouldn't garner unwanted attention. We can explain the deaths of both her and Leonidas now—his was natural as he fell in battle—and how their hearts were used, but not a shred of evidence links Germain and Robin to testing aside from our conjectures."

Crona's face suddenly darkened as she came upon a particular part of the form at the very bottom. "Well, well…it seems one of those who unanimously vetoed this idea gave her approval."

Macarona looked at what the demon pointed to with her thumb, and she too was surprised by what she read. Yet 'surprised' was probably not the best term to describe how she felt. A better word would have been 'shocked' because she too darkened and paled while her eyes widened at a familiar name printed upon this very form she and Crona discovered in Germain's house.

"Miss Etihw…"

…

**Cliffhanger plot twist! Just without Angry Macarona being Scary Macarona. She had to be toned down for Mr. Averniche. He may be an old, cranky angel, but that still does not mean he should be yelled at the same way Macarona got furious with Reficul.**

**There's also another reference to Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea as I mentioned the Sea Kingdom. I've already provided a disclaimer for that, so I'm not sure another one is going to be necessary as it's the same game.**

**We also get a glimpse of Germain's motive in Project Dynol Peiriant. The name of this project is Welsh for "Human Machine," a suitable name for this idea. It and the Theft of Donations are allusions to the murders and Bite of 1987 in Five Nights at Freddy's.**


	10. Chapter Ten: The Fifth Night

Together they rode their bikes through the Grey Village as night began to fall upon a quiet, tranquil little haven the two girls called home. They pedaled quickly, hoping to reach the museum in time before the animatronics came alive. Though it was only seven fifteen, those things were no longer awakening after eight anymore because now they would start activating earlier as the nights prior to this one suggested. With Flavio's help, they produced some healthy snacks to provide the two of them with energy to stay awake at night. The old demon was a great cook, and Macarona's taste buds never had anything tastier aside from Dialo's cooking. He was probably just as good as she was, if not better; though it was also possible he rivaled Dialo in that sense.

The wind blew leaves past them as the wheels of their bicycles crushed them, crinkling the leaves and ripping them up in their haste towards their intended destination. Macarona and Crona rode in silence as they contemplated what they might unearth within the museum. Earlier that day they discovered that the hearts of angels from the war kept the machines powered, though the two of them couldn't understand why. It was so long ago that their hearts must've decayed by now, but at least one inference was made from another document Macarona read in Mr. Averniche's house.

The letter from Cleopatra to Clarabella implied the healer did not die in battle as the stories about her claimed, but could've been killed to cover up the conspiracy and the Theft of Donations. That plaque about her in the museum did say she sacrificed her life for her comrades, though it did not specify whether that was in combat or out of it. At first Macarona assumed it meant in combat because of the painting, though now she wasn't sure as she now believed Cleopatra's sacrifice was meant for preventing Project Dynol Peiriant from being accomplished. That was Crona's idea, and the young angel began believing it wholeheartedly that her death in battle was a ploy to trick others into believing that Cleopatra perished for her comrades in combat. Metaphorically, this incident could be considered a battle to stop Project Dynol Peiriant even if it wasn't on a battlefield.

As they both approached the museum, they turned to look at one another, acknowledging their respective duties with a nod while disembarking from their bikes. Macarona would man those cameras in the security office and keep a close eye on the animatronics and Crona. She'd alert the demon through a pair of walkie talkies if the former came close to the latter. Not only would this mean the animatronics would split up into two groups to hunt them, this was also a tactic to make things easier on Macarona so she wouldn't have to worry about them all at once. Her job was to protect the switch, so that task was more important than finding clues. That was Crona's job, but Macarona needed to help her out too by alerting Crona whenever an animatronic was closing in on her position. Hopefully neither would have too much to handle.

While they were at Crona's house earlier before they departed for the museum, Macarona and Crona went over a map of the museum which the latter happened to acquire a few days ago to plan out an intended route the demon would follow there. First Crona would perform another quick check around the offices and then head to the storage rooms and search in that area. It was supposed to be a simple job, and the demon would soon join Macarona after her search so they could survive together and each take a door to close when the animatronics came by. Basically it was like when Reficul had spent the night with her, though this time it was with a fellow employee which did in fact make it official even if Crona's position as a day guard for tonight was unofficial. She wasn't supposed to be there afterhours because the museum required a day guard, hence the subterfuge.

"Are you ready, Macarona?" the demon asked to ensure her partner was fully prepared. "I cannot stress the importance of this duty any more than I already have. You have successfully gone through four whole nights already, so I'm sure you are prepared. However, the same thing you've experienced last night could happen again. For that very purpose, there are a few spare batteries in a case within the security office." She took out a small key and handed it to her. "This key is for it in the event the power goes out again. Use it only when necessary, and don't leave the batteries in the generator room like last night. The animatronics could very well destroy them. Luckily there's a camera in there which Xerxes had installed today due to Robin's attack during the power outage."

"Yes, you mentioned that before," Macarona nodded as they both stepped inside. "Now we can be aware of their presence if they attempt to tamper with the equipment. I didn't ask him about those safeguards, but I assume there are sensors in there like with the museum, correct?"

Crona nodded to confirm it as Macarona pocketed the key. "Indeed, but I'm sure the ghost draws power from them as well, just like from other sources that can feed it energy. While I would much rather prefer we did not keep the power on at night, it's a necessary evil to maintain constant vigilance on what happens at night. The screws also act as a sort of safeguard against them as they can only be taken out with the screwdriver you used because it's been designed to work for specific ones used to keep the panels covering the batteries securely closed. Also, the panels are made out of stainless steel so anything they do to damage those will not work." She took a deep breath before heading off to the stairs. "Good luck, Macarona. I'll see you later after I'm done with my search."

"Thanks, you too," Macarona returned the remark as she went off towards the elevator as the two of them went their separate ways. "I'll leave the doors open for you, but I'll have to close them whenever the animatronics come by. I can only hope a few of them come towards the office."

"Likewise since searching for clues will be easier, but that's a double edged sword," Crona called from the stairs as the angel pressed the elevator call button. "I do not want to be responsible for sending you to your death, or sending anything that could cause it."

"It's quite alright," Macarona assured her, "I don't mind."

"Don't worry about these lights," her friend called again, "I'll get them before I go upstairs to look around. Just turn off the ones in the basement."

"Got it."

And with that they both went about their respective responsibilities. Macarona to watch the security footage, and Crona to dig up the dirt on information about Project Dynol Peiriant. Each task had its difficulties, but they made the effort to handle them to the best of their abilities. As the girls split up for good until they reunited later, they each hoped the other was successful and safe in their endeavors. They would need that hope if the two of them were to survive together.

Macarona sighed as the elevator went down and opened at the basement. She walked over the threshold and started shutting off all the workshop lights and the ones in the hallways too. The ghost could be seen at several instances, popping up at one moment and disappearing the next with Macarona always aware of where it was since she could feel its presence. No doubt it noticed her friend as well, so the apparition's priorities were split between two different areas for some time.

Her gaze was on the very last spot it left in the painting workshop, and the young angel just clenched her fist in determination. "You won't get to do as you please for much longer. We know about what's happened in the past now, even if the picture isn't fully clear yet," she said aloud so it could hear her. It was risky provoking it since Crona was here too, plus Macarona didn't want a repeat of last night all over again. She probably wouldn't get away without any critical injuries or worse—death—this time, but she wasn't going to back down. It was time to declare how far they had come, so the angel chose to inform the spirit of how much time it had left to roam because she believed that once she and Crona uncovered everything, the ghost would no longer haunt this place. "We're close to the truth now, and we know something else is here. It's only a matter of time until we find whatever it is, but we won't stop looking until we discover it."

Casually sauntering over to the security office, Macarona set the bagged lunch down upon the table by the newest security monitor for the generator room. Checking to see if the circuit was on a separate system so she wouldn't have to cycle through other cameras on it, she smiled with a sense of some satisfaction since this monitor alone was solely for that room. She sat in the chair to start her work and cycled the first floor cameras around to see the animatronics there moving about. Robin was at the elevator while Leonidas was moving up the stairs to the second floor as Cleopatra descended them to join the archer. Germain's shadow was caught moving against the wall, so she decided to update Crona with this latest information while flipping the switch.

"Hey, Crona," she said into the walkie talkie after pressing the button on it so that her voice could go through. "Where are you right now? Leonidas is joining Germain on the second floor as Cleopatra is grouping with Robin. It appears the guys are after you."

"I'm in Marcus' office now," she heard the demon's reply from the other end. "Nothing is here, so I'm going to head over to Xerxes' office next. They probably know where I am right now, so I'm hiding. Let's just hope I don't get caught, otherwise you'll have to come up and look during the day." Macarona smiled, grateful that Crona programmed these to remove the static and muffle the noise while lowering the volume so they could only be heard when the walkie talkies were held up against their ears like phones. She was a smart demon with a knack for technological devices.

"Yeah, as I'm sure a date with the boys will keep you busy at work tomorrow," she quipped, trying to brighten the mood with a lighthearted joke.

"That's not funny," Crona retorted with a hiss. "How about you come up here and entertain them while I sit around cracking bad puns at your misfortune?"

"Sorry," Macarona apologized sheepishly as she closed her eyes and chuckled, pressing a button on the basement security footage for the workshops to watch the girls exit the elevator. "It's just a joke, nothing personal. I'm only trying to alleviate some of the tension, that's all."

"Well, alleviate it later," Crona commented before they stopped communicating. "I've got to hang up now. One of them is trying to open the door, but I locked it. They're not getting in. The damn things think they've got me cornered for now, but they'll leave eventually."

Macarona sighed in relief despite knowing the animatronics could very well break it down. They certainly had the strength to knock down those doors up in the main building, but down here the two security doors were the only obstacle preventing them from entering the office. She was a little worried for Crona, but knew the demon could handle herself just fine. She remembered asking Crona how long she had lasted back when she was a night guard while poring over the map. Crona said it was three nights, but she counted Macarona's fifth as her fourth since the angel didn't mind. Currently Macarona would be in the lead if she passed tonight, but rankings over the number of nights one stayed for the job was unimportant considering the circumstances.

With the basement footage focused on the sculpture workshop, she watched the door of the elevator open up and saw the two animatronic ladies stepping out from the blind spot behind the wall. Macarona quickly checked her watch and saw it was seven thirty as she switched to over to the painting workshop where she watched Robin break the steel mesh covering the vent and hop in to navigate the shaft while Cleopatra started walking towards the right door. Luckily, Macarona quickly stood up and closed it just in time as the healer started sauntering at a quicker pace. When Macarona returned to her seat, she grabbed the flashlight and shined it up at the archer who seemed to be faster in the vents than on the ground. She wondered why that was, but figured it was the old technological innovations built into her system in the past.

Time passed as the two animatronic characters tried getting in. Robin kept retreating from the light shining in her face, and Cleopatra tried going back and forth between the doors at several intervals without moving to the other workshops. Both of them were so focused on that switch that neither could really do much about it because with their numbers it was impossible unless the two animatronics tried to meddle with the generator. That was exactly what Robin tried to do, but she failed several times and didn't go back there anymore. Two against one was normally double the power of one, but in this case the tables were most certainly turned until one of the others upstairs went into the elevator and came down. Three hours passed, and Macarona hadn't heard Crona on the walkie talkie in a while. She was about to check on her again when her colleague called.

"Macarona, you there?" she inquired through it as Macarona pressed the button to respond.

"Yeah, what's up? I was getting worried and was just about to contact you."

"I just found something in Xerxes' office," Crona explained quietly, but still loud enough for Macarona to hear. "There was a secret compartment in the desk. From all the dust in there, I'd say it hasn't been opened in decades or so. Anyway, listen to this: inside there is an old map of the building we're now in. However, these blueprints I'm holding say the plans for construction were for a laboratory designed to create animatronic weaponry in this very building."

"You don't say?" Macarona asked in surprise, closing the left door as Cleopatra arrived in time for it to close before shining the flashlight up at Robin. "So this place was also saved by Miss Etihw back when she and Mr. Kcalb made our world?"

"Right, but here's the thing. Those storage rooms in the basement were once part of a very secret area few angels knew about. I can tell only they would be aware because it lists names of a select group involved in Project Dynol Peiriant under Germain and Clarabella."

"Really?"

"Absolutely," Crona affirmed it for her, "and if you're thinking what I'm thinking, there is something in those storage rooms which is connected to this conspiracy. I'll come down when I'm able to as the animatronics up here have me hiding. Just keep the security footage on the sculpture workshop camera and the main lobby. I have a key for the shutter door, so you don't need to worry about bringing me yours if you brought it with you tonight."

"Understood," Macarona nodded as they stopped talking so she could do as she was told while checking her watch. It was a little after ten thirty, so Crona essentially spent most of her time up in the main building hiding from Germain and Leonidas. Luckily for the demon, Germain was in the pottery wing downstairs while Leonidas was patrolling the sculpture wing. She saw Crona as the demon's shadow passed along the wall en route to the elevator. Her friend pressed the button to call it upstairs before hiding in the shadows as Leonidas returned to the sculpture threshold. He didn't appear to have heard the elevator coming since he wasn't going in that direction, and neither did Germain who was still touring the pottery wing all by his lonesome self. Perhaps the hearts of these guys really were beating in all that machinery, somehow reminiscing about old times.

"Do you guys miss the good old days?" she inquired somberly, wondering if they had their feelings from back then. "It must be sad being cooped up in those animatronic bodies without your original bodies. I can only imagine what it feels like to be trapped in an animate prison for decades without having known what it felt like to be truly alive."

The elevator door opened in the basement as Crona exited, narrowly avoiding the sight of Cleopatra who was moving to the other security door. Macarona switched to the jewelry workshop and watched as the demon quietly opened the door and close it behind her before Robin approached from the sculpture workshop and stood outside it. Though she didn't make any attempt to open the door, the archer went into the pottery workshop instead where another accessible vent was located for her to enter. Perhaps she was going to make an attempt to ambush Crona in the storage rooms, so she contacted the demon about that to update her on the latest development.

"Crona, Robin's in the vents. She might be heading to your location."

"Got it," Crona replied with the camera on her entering the art records office. "I'm checking to see if there is another hidden compartment somewhere in here for other documents before I start looking around the storage rooms. Keep the cameras on me and watch the sculpture workshop for the elevator. Germain and Leonidas might come down at some point."

"Very well," Macarona said before hanging up to do just that with the right door closed to prevent Cleopatra from entering that way. Just as she turned to the sculpture workshop, Macarona caught sight of Leonidas sprinting towards the left door and quickly closed it before he made it to the door. Now both he and Cleopatra were out there, and neither one was moving; that left Germain and possibly Robin going after Crona, so Macarona changed to the jewelry workshop to check the shutter door. It was open this time, so Germain apparently did go in with Robin in the vents.

She decided to call the demon again. "Crona, Germain is coming after you as well. It looks like he's entering the pottery storage right now, so just be careful."

"Right, thanks," came the brief reply from her friend before they hung up.

Macarona sighed in relief, turning her head to look at both doors and watch the animatronic characters on her end. Both the warrior and healer remained rooted to their respective spots, taking a look into the window to watch what their opponent was doing. She didn't have to worry about it as these two could stay out, but Macarona was concerned for what their intended purpose here was in the bigger picture. It was almost as if they were sent to guard her, knowing full she couldn't exit either side to aid Crona if the demon required it. Her only route of escape was through the vent in the ceiling above her, though the steel mesh was covering it. Macarona could possibly break it off herself, but that could get her into trouble even if she needed to fly up there, plus Robin was inside.

All she could do now was watch the security cameras for the storage rooms and hope they went away. A couple more hours passed as the time changed to twelve forty-nine. Five hours and eleven minutes left until six. Macarona was wondering whether Crona should try to head home in a while as soon as possible, but she still hoped her coworker could find something. Germain was still in the storage area patrolling each of the rooms. With regards to Robin, Macarona didn't know where the archer was; aside from ventilation shafts which went all over the place inside the ceiling, so that meant Robin could be anywhere. She was going to contact Crona at this time, but her walkie talkie buzzed instead to indicate it was the demon calling her instead.

"Alright, so I just drove Robin away with the flashlight I had for her just in case." Crona's voice was tinged with exasperation as she spoke. "I assume Germain is still in the storage area, am I correct?" she then inquired as Macarona checked the footage.

"Yes, he's in the pottery workshop now," Macarona responded as the camera in there went out. "Unfortunately, the camera in that room just died now, so I must switch to the hallway."

"Fine, just keep a watch on that. What of Leonidas and Cleopatra? Where are they?"

"They're right next to the doors while watching me work. I think they're guarding them."

"To prevent you from having to come aid me, I presume," Crona deduced. "I wouldn't try the vents if you ever need to get out. Robin just went back in there, so you may run into her."

"What if it's at six o' clock?" Macarona inquired. "Could I possibly be safe then?"

"They come alive early now, so I wouldn't recommend that either," her friend replied. "I'd say their old systems, their angry spirits, or whatever's causing the hostility may last longer now."

"I see…Well, change of subject, but did you happen to find anything?"

"You bet," Crona responded as Macarona could hear the sound of paper from the other end of the walkie talkie. It appeared the demon was unwrapping something. "Let's see here…yes, there was another hidden compartment in the art records office. More blueprints, but this time they show how to open a secret room hidden in the jewelry wing. I'm heading over there now if the mage is not strolling around over here, in which case I may have to hide again. Just watch me, okay?" she said before hanging up as Macarona observed her leaving the office for the jewelry storage. It was fortunate that Germain didn't seem to notice any of this, but Macarona kept watching that corridor to see whether he was going after Crona or not. With the other two still keeping a close eye on her, she could only hope Crona was safe and that this camera would not lose power like the other one. The apparition must've had something to do with that.

Another few good hours went by because Germain had gone into the jewelry storage where Crona was searching, but the demon hid behind some boxes and only came out once the mage was gone thanks to Macarona having alerted her when he left. She switched the camera into the main corridor and watched him enter the painting storage to search there while Crona resumed her own investigation. All Macarona saw was Crona moving some boxes around by the blind spot, when she quickly turned to that one for just a moment before changing to the painting area to check on Germain. Although Crona said she should've just kept the camera on the hallway, Macarona knew Robin was still a valid threat. She cycled through each of the three cameras every few moments to check all three areas to allay that fear when Crona suddenly called her again on the walkie talkie.

"Alright, I found the right spot. It took a while, but the door is slowly opening now," Crona said as Macarona returned the footage to the jewelry workshop so she could check on her coworker and how she was progressing. "It took a bit longer than I expected since these holes were so small, but I finally unlocked the door. The mechanism keeping this thing shut tight was built to store two animatronics according to the blueprints. I guess something must be special about these because it wasn't detailed on the other blueprints for the rest of the building. The locking system utilized isn't like anything I've ever seen, so it must be old technology the angels used back then. Unlocking it was tricky since I had to slide my hand around the wall like one of those magnetic locks one could find on some kind of lockbox customized for this sort of thing."

"What do you see inside?" Macarona inquired as she heard the sound of a large, mechanical door on what sounded like very old hinges. "Are those other animatronics in there or not?"

"Hold on, it's opening now—ah, damn it!" the demon swore. "My flashlight died, and this room is extremely dark. I can't see anything here. Hold on, these spare batteries I've brought with me should do. Is the mage anywhere near me by any chance?"

"Nope, you're good," the angel remarked, quickly cycling through each of the cameras so she could find Germain. He was now in the sculpture workshop, so Crona had enough time to look at her discovery. "Although, I think you should immediately head out after this and get some rest. I believe you'll need it for work tomorrow." She heard Crona sigh on the other end as the demon fiddled in the dark with those batteries for her flashlight.

"I think you're probably right, though I can take half a day off as I've not used any vacation days during my occupation in both of my positions here," she explained briefly as Macarona heard a loud bang from her friend's location as the camera died.

"Crona, the jewelry workshop camera just died and I heard something on your end. Quickly find what you're looking for and get out of there!" she exclaimed in a panic as she heard the demon make a low grunt of annoyance at having to change the batteries without light.

"Shit, well that's just great! Hold on, I've got them in and the light is coming back on now. I can take a quick look inside and make a quick retreat before—"

But she never finished her sentence because at that moment Macarona heard a loud scream from the other end. The scary thing about it was that the scream wasn't normal; it was mechanical, so Macarona's eyes widened in horror as she became very pale at the realization of what suddenly happened on the other end of that walkie talkie. Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to talk.

"C-C-Crona…?" she said into her own walkie talkie in a tremulous voice, hoping her friend was alright. What she heard couldn't have happened. There was no way what she heard happened.

The camera suddenly came back on as she found Germain standing in the jewelry storage. He was looking up at it through soulless, black eyes containing nothing but those white pupils. It seemed as if he was staring at her with malicious intent, peering deep into her soul as she stared at him in return while the walkie talkie dropped from her grasp and hit the floor with a thud after two familiar words came through it—words from Crona's dream and last night. "You can't…"

That was when Macarona's worst fear had been realized as she began to tremble fearfully.

Crona had been attacked.

…

**Another cliffhanger! This is a shorter chapter than the others, though this is all I had wanted to get done for it. Crona's been attacked, but her fate is unclear. You'll see what she fell victim to later on the sixth night. Things are beginning to come together now, and **_Seven Nights at Clarabella's_** is approaching the final climax. Two nights remain, and I shall retain a sense of unique diversity present in each night so far. However, as these are the final nights with the conspiracy nearly unraveled fully, these last nights will be special. I hope you enjoy reading this story as I enjoy writing it.**


	11. Chapter Eleven: Etihw's Secret

Why? Why did it have to be Crona? What could possibly remain hidden and stay that way with whatever secret it was being protected so that it would never be revealed? All the two of them wanted to do was expose a conspiracy to find answers, and now the demon paid for it. Her life, the price, was gone and there wasn't a trace of her anywhere. An official investigation was begun to find out what happened to Crona, but no clues were discovered aside from the video footage which Macarona showed to Xerxes before when he arrived at the museum.

Her face was drenched in tears, and the moment she saw him standing in the security door Macarona leapt to her feet and immediately embraced her boss for comfort, weeping while relating the harrowing fate the day guard met. She explained everything to him after he soothed her down enough for her account to be coherent, and then he watched the footage to confirm her story. While he didn't blame either of them for what happened because he knew they were doing the right thing, Xerxes understood what they were getting into was incredibly deep and very dangerous. He called a meeting of his executives and scheduled it for later that day in the afternoon so Macarona could sit in on it and explain to them what happened. Mr. Averniche was also summoned there too, plus Mr. Kcalb and Mr. Wodahs would come as well to hear Macarona speak of the events that occurred last night and the days and other nights prior to it.

In the meantime, Xerxes calmly told her to get some rest during the morning to recover. It was crucial at this stage of the investigation for her to get as much of it as she needed because the recklessness of acts such as Crona's search of the museum would result in further trouble. Though Macarona begged to participate in the search for her friend that morning, her pleas were set aside with reassurance from Xerxes that he and the staff would work with the authorities to investigate the area. She made sure to mention what Crona said about the secret compartment located within the jewelry wing and how to open it, but Crona never mentioned in what way to move the hand. It was going to be a lot of guesswork—a _lot_ of guesswork—so that was going to take a long time as the blueprints Crona had were probably taken by the animatronics. Maybe it was impossible.

At least it seemed that way, but there was a one in a million chance someone would get the right technique. Highly unlikely to the point of appearing impossible, but not improbable. Odds in those negative figures were strongly against solving the puzzle. Whoever created that lock must've been some kind of genius. Perhaps it was Clarabella, or it might have been Germain, who she was now sure was behind all of this as the leader of the conspiracy.

Though the only question left was why. Why did a well-known angelic mage begin such a horrible experiment into human machines? A stereotypical answer was for power since Macarona read stories about heroes defeating evil mages who sought to dominate others and the world with raw power, but there had to be much deeper insight into this problem.

Macarona didn't know, and, to be perfectly honest, it gave her a headache now that Crona became another victim of the animatronics. Doomed to fall by their hands, the demon realized that and fought against it unlike every other individual in their position, fully aware of what could be the end of her. She was brave in that regard and so was Macarona since she willing helped her, but Crona's sudden disappearance left the poor angel on edge with no idea of what to do. A sleep of a peaceful nature usually awaited her when she arrived home with the exception of that scratch from the ghost days ago, though today's rest was anything but peaceful as Macarona suddenly realized she was dreaming. She had good dreams frequently in addition to the bad ones about bugs which were no doubt a product of Rawberry shoving gross bugs in her face before she devoured them. A dream like the one she was currently having now was no mere bad dream, for it was, as Crona said yesterday when she explained it to Macarona, a nightmare—the very same nightmare she had.

She was floating in darkness as four pairs of enormous eyes all stared down at her through sets of white pupils, all the while begging her for help in saving them as one voice repeated those two discouraging words that were so simple, yet they came across with a powerful force. Words a person would say to someone else when something couldn't be done, or when it wasn't allowed.

_You can't_…

Those words had a powerful impact, and Macarona swore she could even see them form a distinct shape of helplessness in her image as she dreamed. In reality she was tossing and turning in bed, struggling to sleep and deal with the incident. She lost Crona, and there was nothing to do about it because she couldn't do anything to save her. Leonidas and Cleopatra blocked both doors and there was the suspicion of being attacked by Robin in the vent. All three prevented her from a quick exit so she could rush to Crona's aid, though it was possible that she wouldn't have met the archer up there at all. A small possibility, but one that left a critical scar on Macarona's psyche as she knew deep down that she was partly responsible for what happened despite all assurances that claimed otherwise. The mental image of her cowering beneath towering animatronics as they each ravaged their latest victim by tearing her apart frightened Macarona as she helplessly called Crona as if that alone would save the demon from death.

Then suddenly there was a bright light as Macarona jolted upright in bed with a start, nearly screaming in terror as small beads of cold perspiration trickled down her face. Bedhead again, but that wasn't the point. She slowly drew her arms close to her chest and trembled violently, quaking like a leaf on the ground being brushed by strong winds. Turning on her side, Macarona breathed heavily with each breath coming out in long, jagged bursts while her pupils dilated. She remained like that for several minutes and then suddenly decided to get up, walking at a fast pace down the stairs towards the kitchen where she prepared a bowl of cereal for herself and ate it in a frenzy as her elbow rested upon the table with a hand to her forehead.

It was almost time for that meeting, but Macarona really didn't feel like going to it. In her state, simply going would have likely made things worse. As she finished her hasty breakfast and placed the bowl and spoon in the kitchen sink, her thoughts gradually disappeared just like Crona. Macarona couldn't stand it any longer; thinking about it was just making things harder for herself, but it wasn't about her at all. She was just a player throughout the affair, a student playing detective in a real mystery all because of a simple interest in it. Looking back on where it got her, Macarona wondered if she really did make the right choice in taking the job.

Going into her study and lighting the fireplace to help calm her nerves, she still breathed a series of jagged breaths that started decreasing in length, intensity, and numbers bit by bit. Crossing her arms and holding them tightly against her chest, Macarona shivered slightly while gazing over to where her notes and the death toll were. Laid across the desk like a large calendar mat—which was actually underneath the folder—those papers all contained precious notes she took during the course of this investigation and were arrayed around so they completely covered the furniture. She was normally a very organized individual, but Macarona opted to place the notes in proper places once she and Crona had solved the mystery. She sighed somberly as she averted her gaze and shut her eyes, pondering whether it was better to just burn those papers and be done with it. Then Flavio came to mind and she sighed again, knowing she couldn't let him down now that Crona was gone. With his niece absent, he would definitely feel the sting of her disappearance which Macarona felt was on her head. Plus she knew Crona wanted to solve this too, so the demon would have wanted her to follow through on behalf of herself and the other night guards who died. Yet she was afraid.

Still, she wanted to do something to help Crona in any way she could, but she didn't know how exactly aside from finishing the investigation they started. That could provide some closure even though it wouldn't make anything any better. As Macarona stood up to gather her notes into a neatly collected stack, she pondered whether she should go forth with this or not.

But what did she have to lose? What else did she have to lose besides her only friend in the entire search for answers to solve a mysterious conspiracy within the past?

It was either stay at home cowering and doing nothing, or fighting the good fight in honor of those who perished in this massive plot—both in the past and the present, Crona included. She knew Crona would continue fighting for the truth, so Macarona had to steel herself once more and face down her opponents in this conflict to reveal all there was to honor those who had fallen to it.

…

Macarona sighed, fingers crossed that this would only end well. She was still pretty pale to some degree due to that nightmare and her confidence waned significantly, but her conscience was forcing her forward on this issue. There was a saying that the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. A phrase meant to define one's limits which she acknowledged, but tried to excel at. She'd been standing outside the door to a large room where everybody was gathering and wondered if it really was a good idea to go through with it after everything that's happened so far. However, the thought of her helplessness truly scared her and she was terrified Crona might not forgive her for not seeing this through to the end. Macarona had even gone over this at home and made the same decision then, but second thoughts did have a habit of bringing up some doubts at the final step.

She breathed deeply to calm herself as she prepared for the worst, possibly being told that her job was terminated because of her failure to sufficiently help the demon or to take over for her while she stepped down for all her hard work as a reward. A bittersweet reward for that matter, the kind that presented itself favorably with a sour aftertaste that left her crying for something sweeter. That sweet treat would be staying onboard to fulfill everything she and Crona started together since they were at the very beginning and came all this way for the truth. Her strong sense of justice was telling her to finish it because quitting now meant everything they did was all for nothing since the conspiracy wouldn't be fully uncovered and there would be many theories about it. Those theories would stem from the work they did up to now, and it would not be long until other ideas took shape as they formed into different hypotheses with no definitive conclusion to answer any of the most important questions central to this conspiracy. In short, plenty of evidence with too many guesses.

With one last deep breath, Macarona braced herself for the full onslaught of the meeting to discuss procedures for proceeding forward. She grasped the knob tightly with a shaky hand to open it and stepped inside as an argument engulfed her from within.

"Averniche, you scum…" Kcalb growled bitterly at the old angel as he sat across from the former curator and stared at him through narrowed eyes full of cold scorn. "You knew about what was going on from the beginning and did nothing." He crossed his arms and averted his attention from the man who let this all keep happening. "I swear, you're going to burn for this."

"I-it wasn't my fault!" Mr. Averniche protested in vain, throwing a hard glare at Macarona because he figured she had something to do with it. Apparently her last statement to him went over his head, it seemed. "I-I was just following instructions left to me in the will!"

"For the last time," Wodahs joined the conversation against the elderly angel, "we've heard you say it was the will that dictated your role in the affair to you—a role you could have left behind and walked away from when you watched your first death on the job through a security camera in this museum. You hid all of this from the general public and the authorities all for the sake of your reputation, and we've had it with both your behavior and the fact that you're not remorseful for it at all. You had the chance to avert this disaster, but you let it spread further and now several night guards are dead because of you. You're responsible for criminal negligence."

"But I—"

"Enough!" Xerxes said in exasperation as he slammed his hands on the table. "Your excuse isn't valid in the grand scheme of things, sir. We have abided by your precedents and compromised with you on it when we checked the old systems during maintenance after you informed us of them prior to stepping down. Safety of the visitors and employees is one of our top priorities, something you completely disregarded all for the sake of a will you could have ignored after what happened. This entire incident is on your head, not the night guards who were killed by your animatronics."

"You told them everything?!" Mr. Averniche finally turned to shout at Macarona. "This is on that thief's head too! She and that damned day guard stole the tapes and she blackmailed it all out of me!" His accusation was certainly valid, but unfortunately for him, Macarona's statement a day ago about receiving a lesser punishment was also quite valid as well.

"Is that so, Macarona?" Kcalb inquired as he averted his attention towards Macarona. "Did you blackmail an elder into describing this whole incident—a conspiracy, I believe—to you for a way to find answers with Crona during your investigation?"

She had to be honest about it, so Macarona made the right choice in coming clean about it all now that the cat was out of the bag as Crona said yesterday. "Yes," she admitted somberly with her head tipped down at the floor and her eyes closed, ashamed of what she had done. "I was told to show him the tapes if he didn't cooperate so that he could see what really happened to the night guards, but when we conversed he mentioned having already watched them. Crona also instructed me to bring those tapes straight to you if he still refused, so I resorted to blackmail as a last resort to uncover the truth. That got him talking, but before I left I assured him I'd speak to Crona about leaving the tapes hidden until Mr. Averniche chose to make amends unless something happened."

"I see…" Kcalb said in deep thought as he considered how to go about this after Macarona uttered an apology before taking her seat near the door, folding her hands on the table. She looked very guilty about what happened, so it was best not to upset her greatly. Losing Crona was probably the only major concern on her mind and it appeared she didn't care how she was punished for the crime of blackmail. "Well, though your method of acquiring that information was improper, I see you only had good intentions in securing it without utilizing blackmail as the first method. Frankly, I don't feel a need to reprimand you in any way because you're putting more thought into it while considering the ramifications of your actions and preparing for the worst and punishment, unlike some people who only care about themselves and their reputations." Those last words were filled with venom as his gaze returned to Mr. Averniche, the one who did nothing to impede upon what had become a serious incident in the Grey Garden. It wasn't the same scale as Ivlis' attack, but the problem was still dire for both their whole world and Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts.

Macarona would have thanked him for pardoning her, but she felt doing so would be quite disrespectful in front of Mr. Averniche. The old angel scowled at her cruelly and she returned him an apologetic look of guilt which the others understood as they comprehended the message in her facial expression, so they understood why she wasn't showing Kcalb gratitude. Yet they could also see the guilt evident in Macarona's posture showing her self-perceived failure to help Crona as best she could. She was truly sorry about it, so nobody with the exception of Mr. Averniche wanted to reprimand her for simply wanting to do her best to help solve the mystery.

"In any case," Wodahs went on as the meeting progressed, "there are the animatronics we have to deal with. Tell me, how has the museum handled the situation?"

"We have discussed this at length this morning and came to the conclusion that we should lock them up at night with the proper safeguards in place to prevent them from ultimately escaping their nocturnal imprisonment," Marcus explained as Xerxes and the other executives nodded as a show of agreement. "However, the visitors still love them despite the rumors that have been proven true, so for now it is safe to say they can stay on active duty during the day unless they malfunction again and revert to their older systems from the war. In that case, we shall dispose of them with all due haste in order to prevent more deaths by disassembling the animatronics and disposing of the parts within which shall all be destroyed in an incinerator."

"You can't do that!" Mr. Averniche slapped his hands on the table and stood up despite the pain in his legs and back. "Those animatronics are my property, I won't allow you to destroy them just because some foolish night guards died by not following proper procedures!"

"Then why don't we let them run amok in your house and slaughter you," Wodahs gave a sarcastic suggestion which Kcalb immediately supported with his own sarcastic comment.

"Indeed, I'm sure you would love to take care of your animatronics just as they would love to take care of you. Face it, Averniche, your animatronics are monsters and you know it."

"U-um," Macarona interjected as she took out her notes and passed them to Wodahs, "I do not think you should refer to them as monsters once you've read through these."

"These are your notes on the investigation, correct?" he inquired.

Macarona nodded as the Head Angel set the notes between himself and his brother to share them while they read as Xerxes got out of his seat to join them. "Indeed, I've made some progress on my own and have gone further with Crona."

"The Theft of Donations…" Kcalb commented dryly as they pored over the notes. "Sounds like something shady was going on amongst the angels during the war, particularly between these two institutions, the church and the museum. I presume that was a major scandal."

"What is this Project Dynol Peiriant?" Xerxes inquired as Macarona answered his question.

"An operation established by Germain to construct animatronics powered by the hearts of angels. He proposed it to a council and it was rejected, but he seems to have gone ahead with it as we have recently discovered. We believe Clarabella was the head engineer of this project and that the funds stolen from the church were used to finance the operation with plans to use Leonidas as a test subject for the project. Evidently it succeeded since we have four animatronics on our hands and can explain how two of them have hearts inside them. The sole exceptions are Robin, but we suspect she also died as had Germain because their animatronics must have hearts too."

"True," Wodahs remarked as he nodded in agreement, "though I do not understand how it was allowed without the knowledge of his superiors among our people. I remember that well as a matter of fact even though I was not on that council. Lady Etihw and the rest of the council took a vote on it and unanimously rejected it. I heard about the results of it directly from her."

"Then this may come as a shock to you," Macarona began to speak again, not bothering to build up the suspense like she did when telling her friends about getting the job because this matter was entirely different and quite serious, "but Miss Etihw was the one who gave her approval."

Everyone's eyes widened—except for Mr. Averniche since was still pouting—at this. The very revelation certainly was shocking and nobody could believe it because it was hard to believe. That Etihw, the Goddess of the Grey Garden, signed off on it was difficult to comprehend. It was clearly hard to picture her letting Germain do his work on this project in secret when she already disapproved of Project Dynol Peiriant to begin with in addition to the unanimous dismissal. There had to be a very good reason for her sudden betrayal of that decision.

"Do you have proof of this?" Kcalb inquired, to which Macarona nodded as her confidence started building up. The conviction in her tone of voice when she spoke proved she wasn't lying.

"When I interviewed Mr. Averniche about the museum's past, he reluctantly showed me a folder of documents that are still in his possession. They included a map showing the locations of where the five main angels involved in this conspiracy lived, along with a letter from Cleopatra to Clarabella concerning the Theft of Donations. In addition to these two documents was a form that contained classified information which was mostly blocked out by black bars, save for the price of Project Dynol Peiriant and the names of Clarabella and Germain. As the mage's home was still in the Grey Garden, Crona and I headed over there to search his old home and discovered an identical form—another copy of it, if you will—with more information. It explained what the operation was and even included Miss Etihw's signature at the bottom. The copy is at Crona's house with all the tapes she acquired from the museum for the purpose of finding the truth."

Kcalb closed his eyes in deep thought as he put a hand to his chin. "That is a tough pill to swallow, and while I personally believe your story, it still needs the form to back it up. Flavio isn't in the meeting right now, but Xerxes mentioned he would be in the museum. Macarona, could you go find him while we finish up here. I'm going to put in a call to the guards to have a few sent over to arrest Averniche for criminal negligence. His final sentence may be light due to his age, though he'll not escape trial simply because he's old," he instructed her while pulling out a cell phone.

"Understood," Macarona nodded as she stood up and left the room, taking one last glance at the old angel. He should have considered her advice yesterday, and now he could look where it would have gotten him had he not concealed this information from the public and the authorities. In any case, now that her part in the meeting was done, Macarona walked out the door and looked down at the first floor, spotting Flavio walking into the painting wing. She quickly descended the stairs to meet with him, passing by various people carefully so neither they nor she would fall in a somewhat serious accident as she made her way down to meet up with the elderly demon.

"Mr. Flavio!" she called out to him as he turned to look at her, the sorrow from losing his niece in his eyes evidently giving away the fact that he was mourning her loss.

"Macarona…" His voice was tinged with sadness as he gazed at her briefly before turning to a painting. "I don't blame you for what happened. Crona knew what she was getting in on and tried to be careful, but it seems she eventually fell victim to these things," he said, referring to the animatronics as Robin walked up to him with some balloons.

"Her body hasn't been found yet, so maybe she's still alive," Macarona suggested, hoping to provide him some comfort with the thought that his niece could still be saved.

"Maybe…maybe not; though I do hope she is safe, sound, and very much alive."

"So do I," Macarona nodded in agreement. "I will come back tonight and look for her while on duty. I can speak to Xerxes about it since the animatronics will be locked up at night, so I'll be free to search the area where I last saw her and hopefully find a lead that will take me to her."

Flavio smiled, thankful that his only niece made a true friend in the young angel. "Thanks for your support, Macarona. I'm glad I could count on you and the authorities to make an effort to find Crona, unlike some people who only care about themselves and their reputations." That last bit was coincidently the very same phrase Kcalb used when referring to Mr. Averniche, so she got the message that the elderly angel really wasn't well liked and that different minds could somehow put the same feelings of resentment into the exact same words when one wasn't around to hear the other. "If there's anything I can do to help my niece, just tell me what you want. You two were a lot deeper into this than I was, so I'll leave you with the authority in this situation."

"That document Crona and I found in Germain's abandoned house," Macarona said as the archer held a balloon out to Flavio. "Mr. Kcalb and Mr. Wodahs would like it to confirm that Miss Etihw really did give her approval to move forward with Project Dynol Peiriant."

"Very well, I shall bring it to the castle at once and give it and the tapes to them," Flavio declared before turning his gaze towards Robin as the animatronic looked at him, almost like she was smiling at him. She held her hand out to give him a balloon, which he reached for as a gesture of goodwill and gratitude. It was like she understood how he felt about losing his niece.

Yet that peaceful moment was immediately interrupted by a mechanical scream.

Everybody in the general vicinity was suddenly startled by the loud noise and immediately turned to its source to find the archer suddenly starting to pounce on her unsuspected victim. Some of them ran away in terror while others merely watched in horror as the animatronic shoved an old man to the ground and drew her bow, nocking an arrow on the string and aiming for a headshot.

Yet Macarona was undaunted even though this sudden incident took her by surprise as well despite being aware of the animatronics' old programming activating earlier than when expected. Without thinking since she already knew what to do, she suddenly tackled Robin to the floor as a fellow employee rushed over to help. However, the archer forced the girl off of her and leapt onto her feet to take a swing at him which the demon employee dodged as Macarona jumped on Robin's back and held on tightly. She could feel the full force of her gripping strength as she applied it to her arms which were embraced in a headlock around the archer's neck. With a deep breath before her next move, Macarona grunted as she heaved Robin into the air and smashed her onto the floor while Kcalb came rushing to the scene with Wodahs, Xerxes, and Marcus in tow.

"What's going on?!" he asked as some of the visitors let him pass. "Did one of these things malfunction already?" Taking immediate notice of Flavio slumped against the wall, he and Marcus went over and helped the old demon to his feet. "You alright, Flavio?"

"A little shaken up, but I'm fine," Flavio replied as Kcalb nodded and turned to Macarona.

"What happened here?"

"Robin attacked him after we spoke about that document. Flavio said he'd get it and the tapes to you while she was giving him a balloon," she explained briefly as Xerxes and the other employee uninstalled a battery that was keeping the animatronic functioning.

"A ploy to lull him into a state of false security," Wodahs said quietly as the three of them got close so the visitors wouldn't hear as Xerxes walked up to them.

"I'm giving the order to seal up the animatronics now," he said before heading off. "It will take a few days to get everything in order to dismantle them, but we'll remove their batteries now."

"Good idea," Kcalb agreed as the curator walked off to inform the other employees of what happened and what they would be doing. "Macarona," he then addressed the young angel, "you'll be coming back to the castle with us now. A couple of the employees are watching Mr. Averniche and a few guards are on their way to bring him in. I suspect that ghost mentioned in your notes is behind this, and I would like you to be the one questioning Etihw. You've already come far enough in your investigation that you've earned the right to since you and Crona did discover this."

"Very well, sir," Macarona nodded in determination, looking forward to acquiring another piece of the puzzle from Etihw, "I'm with you."

…

"You know, Reficul, you don't have to buy treats for the kitties. They might turn their coats on Kcalb and decide to make you their new owner and master."

"It was but mere thanks for their company as I strolled through Grey Village this morning."

Etihw and Reficul were sitting at the table the goddess usually sat at with her own devil, in the middle of a pleasant conversation as they drank tea Etihw prepared for them. Her otherworldly guest was not making eye contact with her at the moment since Kcalb's pets occupied her lap and lifted their heads up so Reficul could stroke them. Ater and Arbus were in their cat forms, purring happily as their newfound friend gave them plenty of attention while they considered Etihw's idea.

"It must be a shame to leave soon," the goddess commented casually with her eyes shut as she took a sip of her tea. "I know it's your last day here, but you've yet to see what else the rest of our world has to offer. Kcalb and I would be welcome to have you back anytime."

"That would be nice," Reficul nodded in agreement, taking a sip of her own tea. "Sin would love this place as well, and so would Mors. If they are available next time, I shall bring them with me and introduce you both to them. Sin loves cats very much, so she'll get along swell with these girls," she said to the delight of Arbus and Ater who both meowed in satisfaction.

"I'm sure she would," Etihw remarked, aware of who her guest referred to as she recalled Reficul's conversation with her and Kcalb about the otherworldly devil's family. "You could also take them to that museum as well. There is a great selection of art displayed over there each season and there is always something unique to be seen."

"Perhaps," Reficul agreed, inwardly shuddering as the memory of that night a couple days ago refreshed itself in her mind at Etihw's comment. She hoped the goddess wouldn't go there as she didn't want to dwell on it anymore. This was supposed to be a peaceful chat, not a reminder to get riled up over something that happened in the past regardless of how close it was. Unfortunately, the goddess didn't seem to really understand the air because of the door she opened unknowingly. Reficul had only spent some time with them these last couple of days, but she gradually became aware of the other's desire to tease Kcalb and make a poor guy like him squirm. Now Etihw was turning that same blade against her, and the devil wasn't too happy with the direction it was going in with the goddess unaware of how sharp its impact would be.

"By the way, that reminds me," the goddess continued driving the needle of said blade into Reficul's comfort zone even further. "Tell me, how was Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts? I heard you paid a little visit there the other day, so I'd like to know what's new. It's been a while since Kcalb and I last went, so it would be interesting to go back and check out the new art."

"Nothing really special," the devil answered, hoping to parry the sword away before it was too late. She tried to maintain her composure, but somehow it was beginning to flake away in a subtle twitch of a shiver she failed to suppress. Hopefully Etihw didn't catch that. "Although, there were a few pieces there which caught my eye; however, not much really interested me."

"What of the animatronics?" Etihw inquired, taking another sip of tea. "How about them?"

"What about them?"

"Were they at all interesting, or did you find them to be a little scary?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at," Reficul lied, hoping to save face. Etihw appeared to have caught on now, and that blade was inching closer to the devil's throat.

Unfortunately, the devil didn't realize yet that Etihw was perfectly aware of what direction the conversation was heading towards. She purposely led Reficul here with a single remark to try and make the interaction entertaining for a good laugh even if it was at the expense of her guest. The goddess smiled casually, her next move already prepared. "I thought those things were very cute when I first saw them. I really liked how pleasant they are, though I understand others might think otherwise considering the rumors about them which Xerxes proved true."

"Some believe they might be scary, yes," Reficul nodded in agreement, failing to spot her mistake that came with this acknowledgement. "However, I don't believe they are when one knows how to handle them properly from experience dealing with such matters."

"Someone like Macarona?" Etihw grinned, her trap now in place for Reficul to fall into.

"Yes, someone like her for example."

"You know, I was surprised when I heard she applied for a part time position as the night guard for that place," Etihw went on. "It didn't seem at first like she would be equipped to handle a job like that, but now I hear everyone who knows about it praising her. She's really good at it."

"Y-yes, t-terrifyingly s-so," Reficul stuttered before she realized it was too late. She finally figured out this was Etihw's plan all along, and she accidently fell for it when she stuttered with a shudder passing along her spine. The devil silently cursed her luck and prayed it didn't get worse, but the poor lady wasn't getting off that easy since Etihw took the opportunity to pounce upon her.

"Oooh," the goddess teased her, grinning wider as she adopted a more childish tone in her voice. "Someone's afraid of an angel? One of mine, no less. What did Macarona do to tame a devil like you, huh?" she inquired, closing her eyes as she became oblivious to Reficul's rage. Luckily Ater and Arbus sensed their new friend's body tense with anger and they hopped off Reficul's lap before changing into their demon forms while Etihw merely continued taunting the devil. "Strange, I thought you of all people would maintain a stoic stance against anyone, but it appears I mistook you for a calm, collected devil." She leaned forward, her eyes still closed which was why she could not see the trembling fist of anger Reficul was forming.

"You know, Reficul, one should never judge a book by its cover," Etihw went on, unaware of the impending danger in front of her. "Macarona might seem shy, though I'm sure she's a scary monster underneath all that sweetness. Oh, but I know you're aware of that. Being on the receiving end surely must be quite embarrassing and frightening for a devil of such prestige like you."

Etihw was close to approaching the last straw, and so was Reficul's patience as the goddess delivered the final blow. "Oh wait, that devil Macarona terrified is you." And then quickly felt the parry of a critical counterstrike dealt by a cornered mouse who lashed out like a ferocious lion. As fist met left eye, Etihw nearly cried out in pain when Reficul threw a harsh punch at her. The poor goddess fell back in her chair which fell backwards in turn with Etihw tumbling out of it, clutching her left eye which now hurt and was pretty bruised. Wincing in pain, Etihw opened her other eye to find the otherworldly devil towering over her with a flail in hand. The massive spiked ball was dangling in the air and Reficul was seething, her teeth bared at Etihw in a snarl-like expression. It looked as if was the end of her as the cat demons cheered the enraged devil on.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"S-settle down girls," Etihw smiled sheepishly as she addressed them before turning to the devil. "Reficul, I understand you're a little upset now, but it's no use hiding this. It's alright to feel ashamed every once in a while. Your place hasn't been threatened, just your regal posture." It was a poor choice of words, one which the goddess felt she was going to regret as Reficul immediately raised the flail as Etihw closed her eye and gave a sheepish wave with an equally nervous laugh.

"_Ms. Reficul."_

Just as a hand came down on the devil's shoulder, making Reficul shriek with fright at the sound of the all too familiar voice of a girl that frightened the hell out of her, especially as this girl was applying the venom in her voice. In a fit of terrified panic as she became paralyzed with pure fear, Reficul dropped the flail as her body became petrified. She turned ashen and started trembling uncontrollably, her pupils dilating as her breathing came out in long, jagged bursts. The poor devil's heartbeat spiked inside her chest, and her mouth hung agape despite the sound of horrified whimpering escaping her throat as her one and only recently acquired phobia spoke up—and from the sound of that poisonous tone, the cause of said phobia was not pleased.

"_Ms. Reficul, did I not tell you before to stay out of trouble, or are you breaking the promise you've made me the other night?"_ Macarona asked calmly, though her face was very dark and she did not come across as a calm angel giving a gentle reminder despite the warm smile on her face which actually felt more cold and bitter than warm and sweet.

Reficul flinched, shivering badly as she heard two other sets of footsteps come forward as Kcalb cleared his throat. "Uh, Macarona?" he asked while approaching her, only to be stopped by a single finger the young angel held up in front of him.

"_Hold on for just a second, Mr. Kcalb,"_ Macarona politely requested, never turning away from the otherworldly devil in front of her. Not wanting to instigate her, Kcalb and Wodahs merely stepped back since they did not want to provoke her wrath onto them. This was the first time they actually saw Macarona like this, so the two guys were unsure of what might happen if she became a lot angrier. The only other individuals who saw her this furious were Rawberry, Reficul, and that loser with the shades from Ivlis' forces since he too had been on the receiving end of it.

"_Are you going to answer my question, or avoid it?"_ she inquired, her grip on Reficul firm as it became tighter. _"Because it looks to me like you're actually breaking it."_

Kcalb sighed after he and his brother exchanged glances. This was distracting them from a matter they came here to address, and he did want to help Reficul save face since he could tell she was extremely uncomfortable and terrified because of Macarona. "Sorry for interrupting, but I'm sure this isn't Reficul's fault. Knowing Etihw, she most likely deserved it," he commented briefly, hoping Macarona's fury didn't scar the other devil too badly.

Taking heed of his remark, Macarona cocked her head to the side and opened her eyes. She cast a cold, hard glare at Etihw through narrowed eyes as the goddess sheepishly nodded in a timid state. "Y-yeah, my bad," she chuckled sheepishly, nervously scratching the back of her neck.

"_Is that so?"_ came the venomous inquiry, a question Reficul was quite familiar with since Macarona used it on her when she went to the museum to help with her work for the night and to see what it was like there. _"Did you really instigate her?"_

"S-sorry," Etihw apologized nervously, now finding herself experiencing exactly what the devil had gone through for a personal encounter with Macarona's rage. "I-it was nothing much. A bit of l-lighthearted teasing, nothing too serious, really. At least I wasn't the one who took it up a notch." If she thought that final part was going to let her off easy, she had better think again.

"I think you might want to retract that last statement, Lady Etihw," Wodahs warned her as she took his advice with a sheepish giggle when Macarona's glare became darker.

"O-oh, right, s-sorry about that."

"Fine, so long as you apologized for it," Macarona calmly remarked before focusing on the otherworldly devil again. _"Now, Ms. Reficul, I'll let you off easy this time since she provoked you, but don't let me catch you making things worse, alright?"_ Reficul didn't answer verbally, merely giving a nod to show she understood before bolting out the door in a fit of panic as the angel took her hand away. Being cat demons, Arbus and Ater chuckled at this, but a stern look from Macarona and the exasperated smile on her face quieted them. "Don't laugh, it'll only encourage further bad behavior," she stated calmly as the kitties playfully sauntered over to her and pressed their cheeks against hers while they purred, wanting to stay on Macarona's good side.

"Okay!" Ater and Arbus chirped happily in her presence which became comforting now.

Macarona sighed in exasperation, but the smile on her face never fell. "Brownnosing isn't helping," she said through narrowed eyes which also emitted this sense of vexation. However, her gentle tone of voice indicated she didn't really mind which satisfied the cat demons and soothed their nerves if they were frayed from watching Macarona subtly chew into Reficul. They would've gone to Kcalb at this point, but Ater and Arbus just stepped back before kneeling down and closing their fists the way they had done when batting at her hair the other day.

"Play with us, Macarona!" they requested happily, looking up at the angel through kittenish eyes denoting their adorable playfulness. "Let's play!"

"Sorry, girls, maybe another time," Macarona apologized as Kcalb took his seat and made a gesture for her and Wodahs to join them. "I didn't come to play today as I am here for something else." Ater and Arbus took that as their cue to run for the devil and change back into their cat forms before jumping onto his lap, but they understood their friend. She gave them a warm smile as she and the Head Angel took their seats around the table while Etihw picked hers back up and sat down in it again. "That's a pretty nasty black eye," Macarona said as Etihw politely dismissed it.

"Ah, I've been through worse," the goddess remarked with a simple wave of her hand. "A bruise like this isn't too bad, though I do need an ice pack for it." With a snap of her fingers, Etihw used her magic to produce a small bag of ice and pressed it to her wounded eye before addressing the group arrayed before her. "So, what's up? Anything happen with that meeting at the museum?"

"Indeed," Wodahs replied, nodding to Macarona. "We're hoping you can enlighten us."

"On what exactly?" Etihw asked casually as the younger angel pulled out some notes from her bag. "Something to do with helping Macarona write a report on her job or something?"

Kcalb leaned forward and answered her through narrowed eyes. "Project Dynol Peiriant."

Etihw turned ashen at the mention of that name and shuddered. "Oh…" Her voice, usually cheerful for the most part unless it was something very serious—in which case she adopted a more staid and collected tone—was now hollow. The sudden change in character was unlike her because Etihw was never like this, but for the first time she looked…different. As if the sudden shock of a revelation like this subdued her, though somehow she believed this day would come. Her eyes had gone narrow as she gazed around the table at the others, realizing something that she was aware of for a long time—something that could no longer be kept secret by being swept under the rug. Yet she was strangely calm as she put forth a question to satisfy them. "What do you want to know?"

"Why did you allow this to happen?" Macarona asked since Kcalb and Wodahs let her have the floor in this interrogation. "You knew what was acting as a power source for these animatronics and have rejected Germain's proposal to begin development on them, yet you went back on it and signed your approval for Project Dynol Peiriant anyway. Why did you do it?"

Etihw remained silent for several minutes as she tipped her head down in shame, possibly because she was contemplating what to say to satisfy them. The goddess knew she had to choose her words carefully now that her cover was blown, discovered by an ordinary angel who happened to be the descendent and reincarnation of a strong angel from the war. She stood up and walked to the window with a sigh, closing her eye as she drifted into deep melancholy. "Believe me when I say it was not a decision made lightly," Etihw began her explanation, "for there is more to what it may be perceived as. I gave the operation my signature, but it went into effect after the war when Kcalb and I made peace for our respective people. I don't know why exactly, but it did."

"Flavio made a similar remark," Macarona interjected as Etihw nodded, aware that the old grave keeper's suspicions were correct as she began to confirm them after Macarona asked another question. "But why would Germain and Clarabella wait so long to implement it? What would they gain from working on something already turned down by a council you presided over?"

"Because while the project sought Leonidas as a test subject, two issues threatened to reveal it. The Theft of Donations, which I'm sure you're well familiar with as you've already discovered the existence of Project Dynol Peiriant, was one. Cleopatra checked the connection between it and the museum, but she was slain by another angel involved with the project after learning that I had ordered the transaction of funds. As for the other, one of our best scouts teased the secret out from Clarabella and I and sought to aid us in the shadows. You're also familiar with her as well because you've spoken with Grora about her, so it shouldn't be hard to put this together."

Macarona nodded, lining the pieces up. "Robin…"

"Yes," Etihw confirmed it while looking out the window through her open eye. "However, it was not the operation she helped us with. There was another secret she discovered, one Germain knew of as well which is why Clarabella and I were forced to work with him via blackmail. It was something which only the two of us knew of until they learned the secret too, and Robin paid very dearly for it with her life while the war was still raging."

"What secret was that?" Macarona inquired as Kcalb and Wodahs listened attentively while Ater and Arbus, confused at this was all about, merely watched. They would ask about it later.

Turning to face Macarona, Etihw sighed again as she swallowed to clear her throat before dropping the curtain on the secret she and Clarabella were bound by. "After one of the battles our people had won, Clarabella sifted through the remains of several animatronic weapons which were destroyed by the demons at an encampment they constructed. It was destroyed, but several nights later she contacted me with a request to see me alone in private at her estate. It was supposed to be a secret, but somehow Germain learned I was heading there. That night, when it was just the both of us in her home as she dismissed all of her servants for the night, Clarabella led me to her room where I found what she kept secret from everyone else. Sleeping in a crib by her bed…was a baby demon she found through the rubble of those animatronics."

Macarona's eyes widened at this shocking revelation, and so had Kcalb's and Wodahs'. It was as if the three of them discovered something that changed the affairs and fate of the war. Then again, this kind of secret was just that and it really was quite powerful. Clarabella rescued a demon who likely hadn't seen a few weeks or months in its life yet when it was born.

"A baby…demon?" Macarona found her voice again after the several minutes of silence.

Etihw nodded. "Indeed, I inquired why she spared it when I saw it. Clarabella gave me one look in response that told me all there was to know. A couple days prior to our meeting a report was sent to me concerning what happened with the animatronics. They malfunctioned and acted like monsters even though their systems clearly distinguished angels from demons. Yet it was how they slaughtered their opponents which, as Clarabella admitted in her report, frightened her beyond belief. One reason why she chose to spare the baby demon was because she felt guilty about what her animatronic weapons did and how they acted while going haywire. However, there was another reason why she desperately wanted to save it."

Macarona cleared her throat before putting the question forward. "And that was…?"

"Clarabella was the last of her family. She couldn't bear children due to the conditions of her work and her husband perished on the battlefield in the very same fight Leonidas died in. This baby was her only chance to have a family since all of the orphaned angelic children were adopted by other caring parents before her. She would've had a chance to adopt one or two had she taken the opportunity, but work always kept her too busy for that. The discovery of the baby was enough to ruin her reputation since it was a demon, but she didn't care. Clarabella chose to save this baby and she chose to adopt it and make the baby her child. She told me she was thinking about retiring soon so she could raise it, and claimed she would even leave our world and go elsewhere if I had ordered her against it," Etihw continued her explanation. "I accepted that baby and allowed her to adopt it as her own, promising Clarabella I would keep her secret."

"But Germain and Robin learned of it too," Macarona said declaratively as Etihw went on.

"He found out first after sending one of his familiars, a moth, to spy on us. Realizing what this could mean if our secret got out, he later approached me with a choice: sign onto the project, or risk a possible revolution against my authority as a goddess if anyone else found out. Germain may have looked distant and cold, but he really did care about other angels and their standing in a civilization like ours. However, he realized that Clarabella and I could be purged by other angels and deities if the baby demon was discovered and used that as a means of furthering Project Dynol Peiriant to provide slain angels with the opportunity to live on after death in combat. Although his intentions may have been good, his method contradicted it. This was a means to an end."

"And Robin?"

"She discovered Germain was blackmailing us to go ahead with the operation and learned why from us. Robin understood what we were trying to protect and chose to help us by spying on Germain for us. She requested permission to have freedom from other policies established so our angels could follow a code of appropriate conduct. That way she could investigate his activities in secret without anyone's knowledge and the threat of punishment for going against orders. I granted it and she kept an eye on him, but soon she disappeared on a scouting mission for our people. She was the third angel to go with Leonidas and Cleopatra as the first and second respectively. As there is an animatronic based on Germain in the museum, I can only assume he used himself as a test subject as well as he was dying. The same goes for the one about Robin which leads me to suspect she was slain too. I tried to keep in touch with Clarabella to stay involved, though Germain forbid it and I was unable to learn more until the war had ended and Clarabella somehow got a message through that Project Dynol Peiriant was undergoing the first stage of testing."

A tear slid down Etihw's cheek as she turned back to the window. "I ruined the lives of so many people who did not deserve to die, all because we wanted to protect what a few of us knew was more important…the baby demon Clarabella adopted. Sometime later, she contacted me again with a request to leave the baby—by this point a small toddler—on the doorstep of a demon family who settled down and leave without making my presence known. I did as I was instructed and had left after concealing my presence. I didn't know how that child was doing, though I learned why Clarabella wanted me to turn him over to another family after I heard of her tragic suicide."

Etihw took a deep breath, no longer wanting to continue any further with this line of inquiry since she was becoming too upset over it. "That is all I want to say on this matter. I do not wish to bring up more of it. It is a very tragic tale, one I can't forget. Each morning I wake up ashamed for what I did, and I hope that demon child has lived a happy life." She closed her eyes while removing the icepack before opening them to look up at the evening sky to finish remembering everything she did for Clarabella and the baby demon. "Macarona, I know you probably have more questions concerning this, but I'd like to request that you please leave now. This was one of the most difficult moments I've had to recall, and I'd appreciate it if you'd be so kind as to leave me in peace so I can recollect myself." She sighed and shuddered, holding her arms close to her chest.

"As you wish, Miss Etihw," Macarona said softly as she stood up, but loud enough so the goddess could hear her while she bowed to show her gratitude. "Thank you for your time."

When she left Kcalb ushered his pets off his lap and stood up as well to stand by Etihw as she turned to face him. "Kcalb…did I do the right thing?"

He nodded in understanding. "The three of you did. While it may have been illegal back in the war, I'm glad you made a difficult decision to help save a baby demon from my side even if it meant risking your own life and position amongst your people. I would've done the same as well." Kcalb moved closer and put his arm around her for comfort, grateful for the sacrifice Etihw made with Clarabella and Robin, and he was also sure Cleopatra and Leonidas would understand too. It was a terrible shame Germain didn't seem to understand the value of that life as he used it to help his own advantage in a conspiracy that could finally close on its last chapter.

…

**And there you have it. One of the most powerful revelations in this story was revealed, but there is more to come. **_Seven Nights at Clarabella's_** is approaching its finale after all, so these final chapters are going to leave behind quite a shocking impact.**

**Angry Macarona is being Scary Macarona towards Reficul again. This time I decided on a subtle approach, but the hilarity is still there either way.**

**Also, I've been thinking about teasing two characters who'll appear in a couple other Grey Garden stories I've got ideas for. If I do happen to reference them in this story, there's going to be follow-up allusions in the stories they're meant to be in to tie them back to **_Seven Nights at Clarabella's_** and quite possibly the teasers as well. This story is supposed to have a feeling of Five Nights at Freddy's in it—obviously because it's a crossover—but the lore can fit into the Grey Garden as well since that's the direction I'm approaching it from. So based on this notion, the lore of **_Seven Nights at Clarabella's_** is compatible with my other stories if not with the actual game itself in the sense that it might not be considered perfectly canon. I will provide brief descriptions of these two characters in author's notes if they appear, but I will not fully explain who they are supposed to be as I'll be using fun facts instead.**

**I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoy writing it.**


	12. Chapter Twelve: The Sixth Night

"You sure you want to come in tonight?" Xerxes inquired while scratching the back of his head. "I mean, it's not really necessary since the animatronics have been sealed up and we still did not manage to find Crona yet. I think you're pretty much done for the week so far."

"Yes, I'm positive," Macarona nodded as she sat inside his office to speak with him about tonight. "Crona helped me since the beginning of this job, so now it's my turn to return the favor. I want to find her or least some clue as to what the animatronics have done to her so everyone who knew her could have some closure concerning her fate." She pleaded with her boss as he thought about her predicament. "Please, Xerxes, I have to do this for her."

"Well, alright, I don't see why not," he easily relented while he finished gathering his stuff. "Your contract states you have two more nights left in the week, so I guess we'll stick with it for the time being and play it by ear if anything else comes up. Speaking of which, we haven't had an encounter with any spiritual phenomena today. I'd say the ghost finally passed on to the other side as a result of what you found. It probably might get boring for you staying here all night."

"Don't worry," his part time employee assured him, "I shall not succumb to boredom." She wasn't even joking about that either since her plan of action would leave her preoccupied for how long it took to find Crona. "I'm going to be searching the jewelry workshop where she last vanished and see what happened there. Crona mentioned something about a way to unlock the door merely by sliding her hand across the wall, so I'm going to try seeing if she's on the other side. Hopefully she is—worst case, her remains." That last part came across rather grimly.

"Okay, just be sure to check the cameras in the security office every so often. We've turned off the animatronics permanently and plan to dismantle them soon as I've said before. Still, we've got to be more careful now that we know there are actual hearts inside of those things. It's difficult to believe they were constructed with equipment designed hold hearts as power sources."

"Believe me, Xerxes, I felt the same when I learned of it," Macarona agreed as they both left his office and went to the elevator. "For all we know, their hearts might be decrepit and rotten at this point. Therefore, the only thing keeping them in this state could be their spirits even though we've only really seen one active around the museum."

"Well, in any case just be careful, okay," her boss cautioned her as he pressed the elevator call button to send it up for them. "We don't want another disappearance and death on our hands."

"I will," Macarona nodded as the elevator came up and took them down to the first floor a minute later. She checked her watch and noted it was seven fifty-nine, just a minute to eight when the animatronic characters would've normally come alive with the exception of the past few days. The young angel said her goodbyes to Xerxes as she went around turning off the lights before she returned to the elevator and went down into the basement where she repeated the process. Taking a brief detour to the security office to drop her lunchbox off, Macarona brushed some stray hair in her eyes away while checking each camera. Nothing was happening as of yet, and all was relatively normal—at least as normal as this place could be even with its secrets—but she flipped the switch.

Its past as a laboratory for animatronic weaponry was one thing which Etihw saved. Maybe this was also the location where Project Dynol Peiriant was begun, which explained its presence.

Taking the flashlight with her, Macarona clicked it on as she proceeded down the corridors and through the shutter door which she unlocked with the spare key on her person. Pulling the door up, she crossed the threshold and made a beeline for the jewelry workshop to examine where Crona was last seen on the footage. Macarona stepped inside and flicked the light switch, turning a set of fluorescent bulbs on before sauntering to the particular spot. Each of the boxes that were originally there were moved out into the hall during the investigation that morning so the forensics team from the castle could focus here. She didn't have the results of that examination, so she had nothing to work on—doubly so if they couldn't find anything on that wall like fingerprints to determine how to open the secret door. Perhaps it was such an intricate contraption that fingerprints could not be applied unless Crona didn't have any fingerprints.

Stepping closer to the wall, Macarona knocked against it to determine if it was hollow and found her suspicion to be partly correct since some areas had a different echo than others. Taking a guess as to how this puzzle worked, she casually slid her hand across the wall in several ways to better understand how the door worked. She wished those blueprints were around, but she heard from Xerxes that virtually nothing was recovered. Not the best lead to work with, but there had to be something, anything that could at least point her in the right direction. As she wasn't getting anywhere with this, Macarona believed it was time for a different approach.

"Maybe there's something else in the art records office," she casually commented to herself while heading over there, keeping the lights on for when she returned. Macarona walked to where the door was and tried the knob, smiling in satisfaction since it wasn't locked. Stepping inside for a look around, the young angel gazed at the several file cabinets and shelves of documents before examining them more closely. It was no use since the labels underneath indicated these were plain old files, though one spot in the corner caught her eye. An open drawer protruded from the wall it was installed in, the empty space inside a clear indication something used to occupy that spot. The blueprints for the hidden room which Crona discovered had once taken up that space just as those blueprints the demon found in another compartment in Xerxes office—which was also open from when they were removed. They were gone now, just like Crona, leaving Macarona with nothing.

Getting past this door was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. She sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead, deciding to return to the security office for now and think about what Crona would have done. There had to be some trick to open it, but Macarona didn't know what it was. It was proving to be very difficult from the onset of her search alone, though this was just the start.

As she walked through the halls and back into the security room, Macarona checked all the cameras again and closed her eyes in deep thought while reclining in the chair. Against her better judgment which told her not to think about last night because it would only dampen her spirits and frighten her, she recalled the events that led up to Crona's disappearance. Leonidas and Cleopatra kept the doors blocked while Germain was patrolling the storage rooms. Robin wasn't present on any of the cameras because she was in the vents. When she saw the mage after Crona vanished, he was standing in the center of the room. It would have taken him a minute to get from the room he was in to the jewelry room to attack the demon. Crona would even hear him coming too, so he couldn't have attacked her. That just left Robin as the culprit among the animatronics, but how did she do it? How did she attack without being seen?

Macarona's eyes jolted open and she snapped her fingers when the realization suddenly hit her. "Of course! The vents! That's it!" It was it; Robin traveled through the ventilation shaft. When the camera went dark for about a minute, Robin seized her opportunity to pounce. Yet she too was supposed to have been seen on the camera, and even her shadow would have indicated she'd been standing in the camera's blind spot. Where was the ventilation shaft for the jewelry workshop?

She raced back there and checked all the walls, finally locating the ventilation shaft opening on the other side of the wall just across from where Crona was assaulted. It was on the ceiling too, and the steel mesh was still in place—possibly because it was reattached to it. Yet Crona would've heard that too if the mesh was broken through, so that eliminated that possibility. Turning back to the spot where the secret door was, Macarona sauntered over to it and examined it closer. Nothing more could be gained from this alone, but that just provided her with another theory anyway. If an attack from within the room was impossible, surely an assault from the other side was plausible.

It was only made possible through one avenue of entry and escape: the ventilation shaft. A bit farfetched, but still possible. Macarona smiled as she finally figured out the secret behind how Robin was able to harm Crona. The archer was the only animatronic that traveled through the vents and now her path revealed a side entrance into the hidden room beyond the door. Now if only there was an open vent somewhere for her to open; it didn't matter where as she could've just as easily flown into one the similar way of crawling into one that was easily accessible without the means of flight. This was going to be a dirty experience since the vents were starting to accumulate some dust since they were last cleaned, but she would make the plunge anyway.

But not yet; first she needed a map of the ventilation shaft. There might be one in the office for art records, so she made a return trip there. Macarona distinctly remembered reading a label in there on one of the shelves inside, and her short term memory didn't fail her as she finally located the map in question. Clearing some space on a desk in the room, she laid the map across the surface and traced her finger along the paper. The legend over in the corner included a dotted line for the ventilation systems which she followed right away. There was no wrong answer regarding where she entered from, but a quicker route was through the jewelry workshop. Macarona decided to take this map with her so she could use a pencil from this desk to mark where the secret entrance was.

Just as she was folding the map into halves, she suddenly heard a sound come from within the vents. It continued for several moments as Macarona paused to listen to it, her ears picking up the sound of mechanical movement. "That can't be…" she murmured quietly, "those animatronics can't have escaped their crates." Immediately she rushed back to the security office and examined the footage for each storage room. There was one crate per room for the animatronics, and not any of them were open. There was even a glass door to show they were in those crates, so it could not have been one of them. Unless…there were two animatronics in the secret room that just woke up.

Macarona prepared her flashlight as she looked up at the steel mesh and sat down, keeping a close eye on that vent. She kept her ears open to listen for anything else, whether from above in the ventilation shafts or through the doors. Every so often she checked the cameras and saw not a thing on them until a couple hours of silent waiting passed when she finally caught something with a quick glance at the pottery workshop. There was a momentary pause of something gazing through the camera before it went away. Macarona knew it was an animatronic, but this one was different. This one appeared to have black hair and a slimmer body with red eyes full of malicious intent, an alternative build to the somewhat bulky constructs she'd been dealing with this past week. It looked a lot more agile than even Leonidas, and quite elusive as well like Robin because she couldn't find this one when she looked at the other cameras as if this one hardly existed. Where did it go?

Suddenly the sound of mechanical footsteps sprinting through the hall came from the right corridor and Macarona instinctively closed that door and pressed the button for the light. Nothing was there, but she didn't pause to keep a close watch because she wanted the other door shut too. With both doors down, the young angel averted her attention towards the vent and looked up into it, flashlight at the ready in the hope that this animatronic was routed by the same tactic she would normally use on Robin due to the same kind of glitch in the system.

Yet nothing appeared, giving Macarona a few brief seconds to check the basement cameras to find nothing aside from general things throughout the whole area. The animatronic was nowhere to be found; however, Macarona swore she could hear more footsteps as if the thing was running like Leonidas, though at a much faster pace which enabled her—Macarona assumed it was a she—to sprint by without getting caught. Macarona would have removed that tape to check the footage in another monitor, but one wasn't present aside from these and the tapes could only be taken out after putting in a password to remove them.

Then suddenly she saw it more clearly at one forty-six, dashing across the pottery workshop at such a fast speed that the number of frames catching it would be in the single digits of seconds taken to record the animatronic. It was definitely constructed to look like a female angel, and she'd also glimpsed the face of it clearer than before which revealed a row of razor sharp teeth perfectly aligned with each other. Her arms were also slender, though Macarona felt they also had plenty of strength. Appearances could be deceiving, so if she had a gripping strength of five hundred, what wasn't to say this animatronic was just as strong? How it sped through the basement was amazing because the animatronic angel looked graceful. That was the only compliment Macarona could give it since it was still a deadly weapon—she was quite positive of that—but she was impressed nonetheless with how it could maneuver so quickly.

It just had to be one of those two animatronics kept hidden in the room. If there was one, a second was likely to show up. The odds were fifty-fifty, though Macarona leaned towards the other option of it being absent even though she didn't expect that.

After that appearance the animatronic was gone, having vanished right away which worried her because of how agile and evasive it was. This kind of behavior definitely wasn't present within the others, so tonight was going to be a challenge despite there only being a single animatronic to worry about. Even so, Macarona welcomed it all the same as she finished her first sandwich. "You want to play hide and seek?" she inquired as a means of accepting said challenge. "Fine, I'm game. Just promise me you'll reveal your secrets once I win our little game."

As if on cue, the animatronic barged into the generator room by violently kicking the door down as Macarona instantly regretted those words when she watched it smash its hands upon both generators, destroying them instantly and killing the power while the doors opened up.

Macarona sighed. "Well, that sucks. Guess I might as well play anyway," she said, leaving the security office with the flashlight in hand. She could hear the familiar sound of footsteps in the sculpture workshop and rushed over to catch the animatronic, but it was gone instantly. Changing the battery was no good against an agile opponent like this because it could attack her then if those generators hadn't been obliterated to shattered pieces sprawled across the floor by their remains in addition to covering those remains as well. Her only option was to fight, and Macarona realized it instantly that she now had the freedom to combat the animatronics when they became deadly. They were being destroyed anyway, so she could defend herself to the fullest without the weight of legal punishment for her actions or other restraints. Now she could fight back on equal footing.

However, she wondered if this animatronic also realized that too, as if the ghost was in full control of its behavior and the old programming inside of it in a last ditch effort to escape this total imprisonment within the museum. It wasn't going down without a fight, and Macarona would give it one to remember and possibly be afraid of. This was a mere animatronic—albeit one more skilled than the others, it seemed—and she was one of the heroines who defeated Ivlis and saved the world from his invasion. She survived five nights without fail and not once fought back until tonight, so Macarona was more than well prepared for this conflict and she wouldn't back down.

Yet there was also the distinct possibility it was a stronger model than the others she'd been accustomed to dealing with. Even so, Macarona wasn't scared. She would fight, and she was going to emerge victorious for her world against an opponent who likely sought to destroy it like Ivlis, if for a completely different reason than the motive that devil had.

Sauntering into the sculpture workshop with the flashlight, Macarona focused carefully on the environment around her. Tables were lined up against the wall as plenty of sculptures were set upon them. The center was bare and there was some room to maneuver for a few quick attacks in close combat which was going to be difficult since she didn't want to destroy the art. It was a tactic Macarona refused to resort to, but the animatronic was not subject to that restriction and could probably do as it pleased in that regard. The sound of footsteps from the hall behind her made the young angel whirl around for a counterattack if this thing assaulted her from that angle, but then the sounds came from the vents in a short amount of time later—probably several minutes or so.

It dawned on Macarona that the animatronic could potentially flip the switch to unseal the main doors while she was in here, though the only recourse to get upstairs was to take the elevator if it still worked. She was pretty sure it wouldn't since the generators were smashed, but there was a panel up in the elevator ceiling that opened up into the shaft. If Macarona made it there in time, she could ambush the animatronic in the lobby and fight it there with more room to move.

Though her only issues with that plan included the switch possibly not working the proper way with the doors already unsealed. The second problem made itself apparent as Macarona made a quick turnaround again as she heard it approach from the other direction. The animatronic raised its arm and slashed at her in a horizontal motion while running towards her, but the young angel's quick reaction saved her as she responded by grabbing the thing's arm. Ducking past it, Macarona made a move that would have potentially snapped that arm's ligaments had it not been a machine, though the animatronic strategically fell to its knees for a split second and slid her legs underneath Macarona, causing her to fall to the floor as well. The flashlight had fallen from her grip and rolled to the side of their little arena as her opponent rapidly whirled around to face her, its teeth bare in a snarl as it attempted to bite down hard on Macarona's neck. Yet the young angel dodged this by positioning her head to the side and springing to her feet while thrusting her knee into the chest of the animatronic. That was when she caught a glimpse of a few severed parts in the arm she seized moments ago before the animatronic shoved her aside and leapt through the steel mesh with such speed that it broke through without having to pull it off.

Despite being out of breath from that encounter, Macarona dashed to the elevator. The door was shut tight, so she would have to find something else to open it. Luckily she noticed a crowbar in the painting storage the other day and knew it was still there because it showed up on the security footage when she checked that area before. Making a mad dash over to the shutter door, Macarona could hear the animatronic up in the ventilation shafts and knew it was following her from above in the ceiling. "Good, come after me!" she shouted with the expectation that it heard her voice and understood what she meant. "You'll get plenty more where that previous scuffle came from while losing more than you hope to gain!" Normally it would've been a foolish taunt, though now it was real as this was a serious battle for the fate of her world. Granted, the authorities could handle one animatronic like this one, but Macarona wanted to avoid any and all casualties it could cause.

She passed through the door without incident and made a sharp turn into where the painting storage was, nearly stumbling over her own feet in the process as she continued to sprint. The mesh covering the vent up in the corner broke and the animatronic resumed the assault again in a more dangerously calculated fashion. Instead of approaching her at close range, it shoved all the shelves in her path to try crushing the angel underneath one of them. Yet Macarona had emerged unharmed from all the commotion as she seized the crowbar and whirled around to smack her opponent with it. Unfortunately, the animatronic seized it and brought her other arm into Macarona, smashing into her side and knocking her afar into a painting which added onto destroyed art from the shelves.

Panting heavily from the blow while staggering to her feet, she coughed and doubled over in pain before narrowly avoiding a swift chop to her stomach as she tried grabbing the arm again. The animatronic saw through her strategy and pulled away, rushing forward in the next instant and kneeing Macarona in the stomach, causing the young angel to hunch over and gasp. Spit and a few drops of blood escaped her mouth as she quickly pounced on the animatronic, seizing it with both arms and purposely falling back to try and dash its head onto the floor. However, her opponent again saw through her attack and quickly recovered on its feet before attempting to crush Macarona with its foot by smashing her face. Unfortunately for the animatronic, the angel had also recovered from this attack as well and rolled over, seizing the right foot with both hands and yanking hard to make the animatronic lose its balance and fall back. Though it tried to get up after delivering what was considered a weak kick into Macarona's face—at least that intention succeeded—the machine found it couldn't and instead resorted to a spidery method of maneuverability.

Now the animatronic was faster, but Macarona luckily delivered her own sharp kick into a few teeth to propel it backward. The teeth her foot connected to broke while the blow made it fizzle slightly as the system tried to configure itself, but that gave her time to grab the crowbar and run. "Just try recovering from that!" she taunted coldly on the way out.

It didn't take long for her to reach the elevator, and Macarona didn't hesitate as she stuck the tool into the door and used what was left of her strength to pry it open. A bit of sweat trickled down her face as she panted for breath, finally succeeding just as she heard a mechanical screech from down the hall. The animatronic was approaching and she needed to move quickly, so without further delay she thrust the crowbar at the panel to knock it open while flying through the opening. Her wings nearly got caught on the way out, but she escaped her enemy's grasp just in the nick of time and rushed up to the first floor door. Macarona would've pried it open immediately had that animatronic not caught up to her, but it leapt at the wrong moment and got smashed in the face by the crowbar as the angel brought it down hard upon its head. That blow dealt quite a lot of critical damage to the face and head as more teeth fell out with the left eye while the whole thing collapsed and plummeted to the elevator, hitting its head on the edge and falling through the hole.

Now that she had more time to get that door open, Macarona jammed the crowbar in before it gave way and opened. Taking one last glance at the animatronic, Macarona saw it couldn't keep up the fight for much longer and watched it gradually struggle to stand on all four limbs, with one beginning to come loose and fall from the body. Its ascent was slow this time, but the intent to kill had not even decreased from its heightened state. With several deep breaths, Macarona took her time passing through the threshold and put a few fingers to her chin to check for signs of any more blood. She sighed at the feeling of it running down her chin, but none dripped from it as she looked at how much she wiped off. Macarona may have lost a bit of blood from her lower lip in addition to the bruises from fighting the animatronic, but she was okay. It was tough, but she was victorious and would finish it with one last blow to the head to end the animatronic for good.

She could hear it crawling up the elevator shaft and turned to watch it peek at her through the threshold before slowly emerging. The thing was malfunctioning now, and its system couldn't handle another serious blow like the ones it received. Its programming was severely damaged and would no longer serve its purpose anymore. This was the end for it, and Macarona made sure she followed through with one last strike as the animatronic weakly grabbed for her leg before the arm disconnected as the force of the crowbar's impact killed the machine at last.

Macarona stood towering above it for a couple minutes as she panted to regain her breath before sighing in relief. Dropping to the floor in a sitting position, she continued breathing heavily and leaned back while supporting herself with her arms, hands placed onto the floor. Her body was trembling, but only because she was starting to relax from the tense situation. "Finally…" she said softly through heavy breathing, coughing a few times while recovering. "I'm sure glad that's over and done with." It was finished, alright. The animatronic was broken and couldn't move anymore.

After ten minutes of recuperating by the mangled form of her opponent, Macarona figured it would be a good idea to examine this animatronic and dragged it over to the moonlight. It was a brief struggle since she was still in some amount of pain, but she pulled it to the center in just about a minute. "Let's see what secrets your remains hold," Macarona commented softly as she looked over the broken machine, noting that its form was flexible. Perhaps it was due to the materials used to produce it being designed for that purpose in constructing it, but a closer look at its eyes revealed red smudges that could only be seen up close. Well, the one remaining eye that was left since that other one fell out and landed somewhere in the elevator with the other teeth that came out too.

She pressed her finger there and rubbed the spots where it was, but they felt dry. Examining it further revealed similar spots around the joints as well. If Macarona didn't know any better, she would assume those patches looked like…blood. It definitely wasn't hers and it couldn't have been from another person either because it appeared this blood had actually leaked through the parts of the animatronic. Immediately she thought of Crona and dismissed the theory because this was not fresh blood; if it had been the demon's it would still smell fresh from last night. No, this blood was very old and the smell was gone, so it had to be from years ago.

Macarona looked around for some kind of switch to try opening the machine, realizing that it must be some kind of hybrid suit someone could wear. Maybe there were some parts inside too, and the discovery of a button on back could confirm it when pressed. Thinking about what would still be in there, Macarona took a deep breath and prepared for what might be the gory remains of an old corpse from the past before pressing that button. The suit fizzled slightly as it tried to open up, so she had to pry the rest of it with her bare hands. Once the suit revealed its disgusting contents, Macarona's face scrunched up in disgust as she gazed at the rotting carcass of what appeared to be a female corpse. There wasn't a smell from the outside, but now she could faintly make out the dying scent of decay wafting from the opening. It was going to take some work with forensics to analyze the body, though Macarona could tell it did not look like the individual the machine was constructed to look like. The identity of this corpse would remain a mystery for some time still.

For now Macarona flew back down to the basement and searched for an open vent to enter. First she needed the flashlight which she retrieved from the sculpture workshop and the map that was still in her pocket from earlier when she put it there on her way back to the security office. A quick glance at her watch showed it was three thirty-nine as she considered entering through that vent above her, but the closest was still in the jewelry workshop; however that one wasn't open as she recalled, so the one in the painting storage would suffice.

Heading over there, Macarona found the vent and used the crowbar to remove what was left of the steel mesh the animatronic broke through. It took a bit of effort since she was flying and had to keep the tool steady, but eventually she got it before climbing through. "Right," she uttered as she pulled the map out and looked at it, "let's see where this goes."

The crawl forward wasn't difficult and she discovered the broken wall where the machine supposedly entered from minutes later after making a couple turns, but Macarona was confident it was the way forward. This tight passage must have been constructed back when this building was still a laboratory for animatronic weaponry, and from the look of it, it appeared to be made for the animatronics in the hidden room which she found a couple minutes later.

Inside were a couple of black pods large enough to store two animatronics with buttons on the wall for each one. There was also a switch on the opposite wall which Macarona flipped to see the jewelry storage on the other side. It was an easier way out, and Robin must have activated it to attack Crona if the mechanism within the door didn't work. One of the two pods was empty, but a big surprise was printed on a plaque at the top. Clarabella's name was printed there, so Macarona realized she fought against an animatronic in the engineer's image. If that was the case, who was in the other pod across from this one? She checked the plaque, but it was illegible due to rust.

Then she pressed the button to open the pod and gasped at what was inside. She expected to find another animatronic, and she was right. She didn't expect it would look like Etihw.

The goddess' animatronic figure stood still for a few seconds as the pod opened, but it then fell forward into Macarona's arms as she caught it, accidently pressing the button on back. It started to open as she gently laid the suit down on the floor and gasped in shock as she saw who inhabited this particular suit. She thought there would be another corpse, though that assumption was proven wrong by the living individual discovered within.

"Crona!"

…

**Well, that was quite a boss battle—not in the same sense as one from an actual video game. It's different from games since this is actually written out instead of being played. As boss battles in games may take longer depending on what kind of boss you're fighting, I had to set a specific limit to the fight and construct a format it would follow in the story.**

**And some of you may have guessed it, but yes, Crona's alive! I couldn't kill her off at all because she's essential to the story's plot and its lore. I bet you weren't expecting the way it ended, nor the fact that she was in an animatronic figure of Etihw. Yeah, Germain's been busy with Project Dynol Peiriant as you can probably infer from the chapter.**

**I've still got four chapters to go for this story. Next time I'll tie up some loose ends in the lore to connect everything, and then on to the grand finale: the long awaited seventh night of **_Seven Nights at Clarabella's_**! Afterwards there will be an epilogue to the tale before I wrap it all up with a bonus chapter that will be similar to the bonus rooms in Mogeko's games, but with something different as well since this is a fanfic.**

**I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoy writing it.**

**Edit: I forgot to mention this before I uploaded it that the new animatronics in this chapter are meant to be like Spring Trap in Five Nights at Freddy's 3. You'll know what I'm getting at if you played the third game and listened to the phone guy's recordings. I wanted to implement the same idea in this story with the two animatronics of Clarabella and Etihw; though the latter was meant to not activate for the purpose of the plot.**


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Crona's Ancestry

** Emperor853: Thanks for the review and the continued discussion about my other Grey Garden stories. You can certainly look to my stories for some needed inspiration to get your own writing in shape; I don't mind. With regards to Grora's possible exile, it is possible that her punishment won't be long because Kcalb and Etihw may welcome her back, but she may not receive a warm welcome from others for what she did. Arbus is an example of that because she and Ater are very close and could likely be twin sisters—at least that's what I interpreted from what the wikia says—so she might not forgive Grora for killing Ater.**

** Also, thanks for the compliment about **_Seven Nights at Clarabella's_**. I have attempted to keep the characters in character while creating OCs for the plot. Kcalb might not be a soft character as you say, though his age—however old he is according to the lore—would make him more receptive to others as would what he learned about other relevant topics. He is shy, but I imagine he would feel comfortable around others so they could feel comfortable around him. At least that's my opinion of his personality as I felt he could have used more character development in the game. The wikia says Mogeko also wants to create a prequel and sequel to the Grey Garden, so he'll probably receive more canon development in those.**

** As for the size of the Grey Garden, I felt it was actually very small in regards to what areas were civilized in the sense that they had established communities founded in some areas of the game. When I watched the playthrough of Grey Garden, the only inhabited areas I've seen were Grey Village, Blancblack Castle, and Ivlis' world—even though the entire worlds aren't seen in the game. It is also shown through characters like Ivlis and Reficul that there are other worlds—hence a reason why I referenced other series by Mogeko. I wanted to try and improve upon settlements in this story by adding more to the Grey Garden because it just didn't seem like there was enough of the world in my opinion, so I figured some other inhabited areas could accomplish that to make the Grey Garden feel more populated even though we don't really see much of it in the story aside from a few occasional remarks.**

** The lore of Five Nights at Freddy's is interesting because of all the theories and fan speculation about it. However, since I'm approaching the lore from the viewpoint of the Grey Garden, I'm fitting within that game. It might not be perfectly canon as I said before, but at least the feel of Five Nights at Freddy's—and Herostrain's Last Night at Freddy's for the fourth night—is still there. As a little fun fact, the animatronics and Xerxes are named after historical figures with the exception of Robin who is named for the character of Robin Hood. The reason why is because I wanted to get their names to fit what role they had in the war, but Cleopatra, Germain, and Xerxes are exceptions as I just went with their names because they fit well in my mind. One thing I also wanted to do was include Five Nights at Freddy's elements from the whole trilogy like doors, ventilation shafts, and animatronics.**

** Yeah, I'm really enjoying the interactions between Macarona and Reficul. They're so hilarious because of how Macarona gets angry at Reficul for what she does. It is unfortunate that this interaction won't be appearing again in this story because I did mention in chapter twelve that the sixth day was her final day of visiting, so she won't be appearing again in the rest of this story. However, I have a couple ideas for other stories that include them together, so I can incorporate more of their interaction together whenever I can.**

** Yes, I couldn't kill Crona off because she's highly relevant to the plot. Just recently I added her as the OC paired with Macarona for the story, and she's definitely got a significant role to play. You'll find out what that role is as the story finishes up; in fact, I'm getting to it later on in this chapter since I want to tie up some loose ends like I said previously.**

** Enjoy the rest of the story!**

…

When Macarona tried calling Xerxes and the castle authorities for aid since she had found Crona, she discovered her cell phone had died because the battery ran out of power. She charged it earlier before heading to the museum, but she supposed the ghost drained it. Though it was still just a few hours until they arrived, the young angel did her best to keep her friend alive throughout the rest of the night in the dark without power since the ghost also drained power from the flashlight shortly after her discovery. Despite some difficulty getting Crona up to the first floor, Macarona eventually succeeded after about half an hour of navigating the darkened corridors and workshops in the basement while hoisting the demon over her shoulder before passing through the elevator panel. Once she found it, Macarona carefully lifted Crona through it before going herself to bring her friend up to the first floor and wait for a fellow employee or one of the executives to show up.

It was Marcus who first came with Xerxes in tow because the two of them met up on their way over to the museum. Upon unlocking the entrance while pondering why the lights weren't on yet, they suddenly learned the answer as Macarona rushed over to them and gave a full explanation of what had transpired during the night. She brought them over to the unconscious form of Crona and showed them the destroyed animatronic as well, informing them there was also a second on in the basement and that these looked like Clarabella and Etihw.

Slightly disturbed by her report, Xerxes immediately called Kcalb and Wodahs over as the investigation from yesterday resumed thanks to Macarona's efforts. After a brief meeting between the leading authorities and the curator with his executives, a decision was reached to close for the day due to the recent discovery of a rotting corpse and Crona. The visitors who normally came by would be disappointed, but the news would disseminate amongst the Grey Garden so the public could be informed of what happened. Although the news of yesterday's search was still fresh, this new lead would irrevocably leave the museum closed until it was safe to resume its active schedule.

That was hours ago, but Macarona could not attend that meeting because she was heading to the castle with Crona. She wasn't badly injured by the animatronic of Clarabella, but the healers wanted her to spend the morning there so she could fully recover from her battle. Before departing, she apologized to Xerxes for what happened with the art and he politely explained it wasn't even necessary because she wasn't responsible for destroying the art as it was on the animatronic's head. With that out of the way, Macarona and Crona were brought to Blancblack Castle where they had shared a room to recuperate from their respective wounds which the angel now recovered from.

Now as she sat within the hallway waiting for the verdict on whether her friend was going to be alright or not, the young angel turned her head to look at the demon's uncle sitting beside her on the bench with his arms crossed as he worriedly tapped his foot against the floor. He had given her his thanks an hour earlier when he came by, ten minutes before she was fully healed, and now he was silently waiting with trepidation for the healers to inform him of how his niece was doing. Flavio hoped she would heal instead of die since it would break his heart to bury his own niece in a casket he had to prepare for her, but Macarona reassured him Crona would be fine. The demon had briefly woken up and weakly conversed with her, asking for some actual food instead of the bland, tasteless grub the castle served to patients undergoing healing.

The door opened and two healers stepped out. "You can see her now," one of them said.

"Yes, thank you," Flavio stood up and bowed to show his gratitude before heading in with Macarona to check on how Crona was doing. The young demon was attired in a set of her pajamas which Flavio brought over earlier as Macarona had gone out to buy a good meal for his niece with him unaware until he noticed the bag it was in. He had given her a small smile and gestured with a finger to his lips that he would keep it secret since it was against protocol for patients to receive food from outside the castle. Handing this bag to Crona, Macarona watched her rip into it and tear the cooked meal out before devouring it with gusto.

"This is good," she commented in between bites. "Teriyaki, I presume?" she inquired while her friend nodded in response. "That hits the spot, certainly better than what the healers provided when I first woke up. I remember coming here to get healed on several occasions when my mother brought me in for a few bad scrapes from the Haunted Forest. Something about those woods always fascinated me and I liked watching the ghosts there. I've had a few falls from trees sometimes, so it was always to this place for healing. I don't mind as service is good, though the food is something left to be desired. It really sucks and I despise its unoriginal, bland flavor."

"At least it won't kill you unlike a lot of other things that could," Macarona said as she sat down in the chair by the bed. "We're just glad you're alright. A little rest and some good food will fix you right up again with the healing. Just don't overdo it, okay?"

"Yes, doctor, I won't," Crona said sarcastically as the three of them chuckled lightheartedly despite the somber air. Macarona was glad this girl finally smiled, even if it was at one of her own jokes. "Anyway, I've been out for over a day. Fill me in on what happened in my absence."

"Sure, alright," Macarona said as another healer arrived to speak with Flavio. The elderly demon gestured he would step out to speak with him while Macarona started her explanation. "Mr. Averniche was arrested for criminal negligence yesterday after a meeting on the situation. Robin attacked your uncle yesterday in broad daylight with other visitors around to see it, but I was there to help stop it from intensifying before something worse happened."

"Thanks," Crona bowed her head in appreciation as she continued to eat. "I'm glad my old uncle is safe. The museum is beginning to become a dangerous place with those animatronics there to wreak havoc. Xerxes should get rid of them immediately before anybody else is victimized by those dreadful things. They should be obliterated for good and pronto."

"They already are," Macarona remarked. "The animatronics will be taken apart and put in an incinerator to destroy the parts. They'll likely find the hearts and give them a proper burial that can possibly appease any spirits still lingering there or in the afterlife."

"Good, now we don't have to worry about those things anymore and our world is safe from harm," Crona sighed in relief, happy this was all going to be over soon. "What of the hidden room? I couldn't see what was in there because Robin knocked me out, but you apparently got in there."

"There was a secret passage in the vents; it's how Robin ambushed you from within. I went inside after battling one of the two animatronics that came from that room. The one I fought looked like Clarabella and had a corpse inside, and the other one you were in was in Miss Etihw's image."

"Hybrid suits…" Crona surmised after Macarona finished her explanation.

The angel nodded. "Indeed."

"Do you know the poor soul left to rot in Clarabella?"

"Sorry, I don't," Macarona shook her head, closing her eyes briefly, "but forensics is being done on it as we speak, so the authorities should figure it out soon."

Crona sighed as a shiver passed down her spine. "I just hope it isn't somebody familiar as I've got a feeling it could be a night guard like us. The problem though is who exactly it is. I spent a good deal looking through all those tapes and the graves with my uncle, so it's definitely not the corpses in those caskets we checked. I wish there was some clue to determine an identity, otherwise we just have to wait for the forensics work to be done." She threw the bag out as Wodahs walked in with Flavio behind him, a few documents in hand he briefly read through. Noticing the finished meal in the trash, he turned to Flavio and cast the old man a stern glare which the angel smiled mischievously at. Sighing in frustration, the Head Angel turned back to the files as Flavio threw a quick smile at the girls that silently told them he would take responsibility for that.

"We've got news on the body we just discovered thanks to your aid, Macarona," Wodahs remarked as he pored over his documents. "Turns out it's the real deal, so we'd like you to exhume a grave for us to confirm a theory my brother came up with when we checked the autopsy, Flavio."

"Certainly, which one would you like unearthed?" the elderly angel asked as Wodahs gave him a file which Flavio eyed carefully, reading the details and double checking them to make sure the officials had the correct tombstone they were looking for. "This one? Are you sure it's her?"

"Our analysis proved positive," the Head Angel nodded in confirmation. "Though it is very unfortunate considering the past incident, the conclusion is supported by solid evidence a team of professionals assigned to the case gathered from the body. We believe the body interred is actually a wax dummy created to perfectly replicate the angel in question, so our investigators are currently interviewing the museum's employees—specifically those who worked there at the time—to find out who was responsible for the development of a construct in her image. I'm actually surprised a thing like that got past the morticians' past analysis without having been examined; though a power outage that day kept them from doing their duty effectively, so it's understandable they would miss one or two under the circumstances, especially when the work that time couldn't be rescheduled."

"Kcalb and Wodahs believe Mr. Averniche was involved in it," Etihw commented as she entered the room, the black eye from yesterday still present even though the pain was gone. "Even if he didn't have a hand directly in the affair, this crime will still be added onto that charge of his criminal negligence." She sighed somberly, tipping her head down in shame while she closed her eyes. "If only I had known about it, I could have prevented it from happening."

Unbeknownst to herself, Crona started turning slightly pale as her heart began to beat a bit faster. "W-wait, I don't get it. You signed off on Project Dynol Peiriant, didn't you?"

"To help protect a baby demon Clarabella adopted after saving it from the remains of what had once been an encampment of demons," Macarona explained this revelation to her as the demon felt her heart rate begin to increase without realizing it or why it was happening. Perhaps she just unconsciously felt a sharp, stinging dread in the pit of her stomach that could have been due to the teriyaki she ate, or maybe it was raw fear edging its way into her body and soul. "Robin knew too because she discovered Germain blackmailed Etihw and Clarabella into helping him, so she gave them her aid by spying on the mage. I guess something happened, because I'm beginning to believe her disappearance wasn't caused by the demons during the war."

"Alright, fine, the conspiracy has now been revealed," Crona said in a raised voice as they became aware of the sudden panic attack she appeared to be having. As a precaution, Wodahs had a passing healer on her way to another patient send for some aid so the demon could be calmed by putting her to sleep with a spell. "Just tell me who the hell was in Clarabella's animatronic!"

Everybody was silent, hoping she would calm down. Macarona's facial expression showed she was gravely concerned for her friend since she wondered what had spooked her. This was the first time she had seen Crona behave in this frightened manner, something she hadn't expected to witness in another individual. Usually it was her who had panic attacks on very rare occasions, but those were infrequent and quite minor. Plus she only knew Crona impersonally, having been only a partner to the demon in this investigation despite still thinking of her as a friend. What was it that frightened Crona to such an extent that she would act so personal about something that might not have even been related to her? Something dreadful must have occurred to her, a horrible realization she desperately sought to avoid and reject regardless of its validity.

Feeling that this matter had to be gently broken to the demon, Etihw sighed as a tear rolled down her cheek, obviously feeling part of the full pain this revelation would cause. "The one inside of it…the demon within the animatronic…" she stated softly, pausing in between each part because she didn't know how else to say it. Flavio should have been the one to tell Crona, but the goddess wanted to get it off her chest since she felt responsible somehow for this death too. She saw Crona's eyes widen slightly and knew the poor girl wasn't going to like this; neither did she, but Etihw had to do this for her. Crona needed to hear the truth, however painful it was. "I'm sorry, Crona…the demon in there was none other than your mother…"

That wasn't something anyone wanted to hear since such a statement only caused pain. The shocking impact smashed both Crona and Macarona hard; Macarona since she never realized this investigation was personal to her friend, and Crona because it meant part of her motive for seeking the truth was obscured by a clever lie developed to possibly scare her away. It didn't work, for that lie had the opposite effect on her as it spurred the demon onward to discover what happened in the museum's past regardless of how horrible it was. And now the full force the lie carried crashed into her, dealing enough damage that it was like getting hit by a cannonball with a sharp spike.

"N-n-no…" Crona whispered, her voice croaking as she tried to choke out painful sobs. "It c-can't be…n-no…s-she's not…my m-m-mother's not…s-she is buried in the ground…"

"Crona…" Macarona spoke softly, slowly approaching her friend to comfort her. She held her arms out to embrace the poor demon in a hug to express how sorry she was for Crona's loss in addition to letting her know she wasn't alone. "I-I'm so sorry, I—"

"YOU BITCH!"

In an instant Crona's anger flared throughout every fiber of her being as she struggled in a desperate attempt to get out of the bed, but luckily Macarona and Flavio rushed to hold her calmly as the demon spat out harsh invectives against the goddess who merely stood by and accepted the whole onslaught without saying a word to defend herself or counter it.

"YOU KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON AND LET THIS HAPPEN! YOU TOLD HER TO EXAMINE THOSE DAMN ANIMATRONICS! SHE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU! IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU SHE'S NO LONGER COMING BACK! YOU DUG HER GRAVE SO A FRAUD COULD REPLACE HER! A FRAUD! YOU COULD HAVE PREVENTED THIS!"

An angel and a demon came in and approached her to help by using the sleep spell Wodahs requested, but Crona tried to fight them off as she gave in to the waterfalls of tears which poured down her face while she choked out sobs, fighting against the painful loss and rediscovery of her mother's tragic fate. "Get away from me!" she shouted helplessly as they applied the syringe to her arm and stuck the needle in to place the sedative in her system. "Uncle! Macarona! He…lp me…" Yet Crona didn't finish because she had fallen asleep due to the sedative.

"We should let her rest now," Wodahs instructed as he and the healers left. "I shall rejoin my brother and we'll head to the museum to work with the guards currently deconstructing part of the building with help from the staff. We discovered more hidden rooms where other animatronics were stored and we're already in the process of destroying them completely after examining them for hearts. Germain was likely establishing a small army to fight in the war, though after everything my brother and I heard, it seems he may have had a different purpose in mind for them. In any case, that's all in the past now since another crisis was averted. We give you our thanks for stopping this threat, Macarona," he finished speaking before leaving, heading down the hall to an elevator as Macarona and Etihw walked out too while Flavio stayed behind to remain with his niece.

"I expected her reaction," Etihw remarked as she stared sadly through the window at them, "but she had to know the truth. There was no avoiding it, just as I couldn't avoid the fate which is a result of those decisions Clarabella, Robin, and I made. It's not always pretty and it can be scary, though we must all face reality at some point and prepare for it. Sometimes we can't because the truth is also unexpected." She sighed and turned to walk away en route to a nearby balcony outside.

"Miss Etihw," Macarona spoke up as the goddess stopped in her tracks. "Do you wish this all never happened? Do you regret the decision you've made?"

Etihw turned around and gazed at the young angel, a bland facial expression indicating that she thought something like this might come up. "What's your point, Macarona? I already admitted my role in Project Dynol Peiriant and I am guilty of it. Just because others don't blame me for my intentions doesn't mean I don't." Usually a rebuttal like that would have come across rudely, but not on this occasion. Etihw was clearly upset about her involvement, and she was also tired of the affair and its toll on her. Macarona always knew her as the cheerful goddess whose wisdom and a sense of careless cheer defined her as an easygoing individual others could easily approach and be welcomed with open arms. This was a different side of Etihw, one others rarely saw since it wasn't often topics related to the war weighed her down in guilt.

"I didn't mean anything by it," she held her hands up defensively. "I'm worried about you, Miss Etihw. I know you did the right thing back then and it led to this, but you did not cause this. It was not your fault, and nobody blames you for it because you did what you felt was right. I was just inquiring if you would've made a different decision. I'm sorry it came out wrong."

Etihw tipped her head down in shame. "I see…" she spoke softly while contemplating how to respond. "Yes, I do wish this never happened. This was a problem I couldn't solve back then as I was only thinking of Clarabella and the baby. I just wanted them to be safe. I regret not doing the right thing by punishing Germain for his conduct in spying on us during a private meeting. Maybe I should've said no to Clarabella back then. In hindsight, however, if I could go back in time when I chose to help her to decide whether I wanted to or not…I still would've chosen to help."

"That's all I wanted to hear," Macarona smiled to try cheering the goddess up. "I hope you are not too offended or upset over Crona's reaction. She's just upset at what happened; she didn't mean what she said. I'm sure you both can calmly talk this over soon as this all blows over."

Etihw gave a small smile as thanks to her for the show of support. "Do not worry, what she said did not have any ill intent. I'm not offended by the points she made. Crona did say things, yes, but they were true things, matters I am responsible for and would like to put behind me for good. I think the best way to do it would be to disclose my involvement and why to the public. It would be a huge weight off my shoulders for having to bear the pain and secrecy for so long."

"I agree," Macarona nodded, "I believe that would be for the best too."

"Yes," Etihw nodded as well in agreement before she frowned. "However, there was one matter which she brought up that I was not aware of. I never instructed her mother to analyze those animatronics in the museum. I was unaware of where she was or what she was doing until that one day she died and her body—supposedly her body now that we have the real one in our mortuary—emerged from the museum. Honestly, I have no idea why she went to the museum anyway. In any case, I should be going now; I've got to prepare the big apology to our world. Hopefully everyone can forgive my deceit, even if I can't forgive myself. Take care of yourself, Macarona."

As Etihw walked off, Flavio stepped out of the room as Macarona turned to face him. "How is Crona doing?" she inquired about her friend's health.

"She is stable," Flavio said as he looked back at his niece through the window. "Crona will do fine, I'll speak to her in private about what happened with her mother at a later time. For now, it is crucial she gets her rest. I'm glad you're concerned for her, but don't worry. Her mother has always said that with light, ships come home. Anyway, I've got to get going; that grave won't be exhumed on its own, and I should prepare it for the rightful occupant so Crona can stop visiting a false pretender and spend more quality time with her late mother. See you around, Macarona."

He waved goodbye to her and walked off as she returned the gesture with a smile. He was right after all. With light ships did return home. She closed her eyes and chuckled, taking a liking to that phrase. It was pretty catchy, so perhaps she's ask Crona and Flavio if she could say it too.

Suddenly her eyes jolted open and widened as a sudden realization hit her. With light, ships came home. If she didn't know any better, that was a reference to the lighthouse by the old home of Germain. But why? What was so important about that place? She and Crona didn't investigate the place before when they went there the other day because of how old it was, so they didn't think there was anything there. Was there really something there that was possibly connected to all this?

Macarona didn't know, but she was going there to find out for herself and Crona as well.

…

The afternoon slowly passed by as Macarona rushed towards the location of Germain's old abode where she and Crona found the file on Project Dynol Peiriant. She had never pedaled so fast on her bike before, and twice she nearly crashed and fell off at a couple of sharp turns she narrowly made just in time. Her speed was unmatched by the deathly inhabitants of the Haunted Woods who failed to catch up when they caught sight of her, some deciding it wasn't worth the chase and some others giving up early on in their pursuit. They hoped she would be coming by later at a slow pace unlike her current speed since that was a race they could keep up in. Nonetheless many watched a young angel—Macarona—race through the trees on her bicycle towards wherever destination was, and they daydreamed of all the things they could do to harm her.

For Macarona the adrenaline pumping throughout her veins and the rest of her body wasn't an indicator of a desire to get good exercise even if this extreme attempt at it contributed towards it. Rather she was desperately pedaling towards the old coastline to gain the lighthouse before the night settled over this world like a soft blanket. The stars would be out tonight, but a cold chill was in the air not just because of the temperature, but also due to the recent events which transpired at the museum and the emergence of what could be another sudden revelation in the conspiracy. She brought a flashlight with her just in case it got dark on her way back, plus her bike had a headlight attached to it so she could see the path ahead of her. Macarona also made sure to bring the map as well in case she got lost because she had only been there once before with Crona.

Eventually her objective could be seen in sight and the lighthouse towered over the region like an eagle perched atop its roost looking over the space before it. A swift gale brushed her scarf as Macarona rode up to its base and dismounted before dusting off her skirt and gazing up at it.

"This is it…" she remarked softly to herself as she watched its figure for several moments. "There's got to be something about this lighthouse relevant to the operation. Something is hidden somewhere in here, I'm sure of it. Here goes nothing."

Steeling herself for the daunting task ahead of her, Macarona first checked the door to see if it would open easily before attempting to kick it down despite the planks boarding it up. At first she supposed the structure was weak, and her conception appeared to be proven true by windows which were broken and missing sections of the cylindrical wall. Still, she never thought the boards would still hold considering how long they seemed to have been up for. Dust had accumulated all over them besides the massive cobwebs and foliage growing out of the ruins just like at Germain's house. Nobody had apparently been here in such a long time that the place was falling into disrepair because no one wanted to preserve a derelict establishment like this place, especially because this was an old relic from the days of the war between angels and demons.

With no way to go but up, Macarona sighed as she began to flap her wings to warm them up for her flight. In just a few moments she was fully ready to begin the ascent and started at once, flying towards the top where the room containing the bulb was. She hoped it had been removed at some point in the past before it was abandoned because she didn't want to be poisoned by anything that leaked out of it. Another issue was asbestos, so Macarona had to be fast. Luckily something a good distance away from her in the very center of where the bulb once sat was a small box which gleamed in the rays of afternoon sunlight bearing down on it.

"That has to be it," Macarona surmised as she quickly dove through a hole in the ceiling to reach it and emerged a couple seconds later. Before removing the lid, Macarona took some time examining the box first as she descended. From its ornate craftsmanship, it appeared to be a couple decades old and bore the seal of an antique shop Macarona often frequented with Yosafire. It was the first odd thing she noticed about it with the initials on the side being the second. Crafted in the finest of sapphires, this container was evidently built to store something inside just like any other kind of box. However, this one was specifically made for something protected within it as inferred from the magic seal etched on the lock. Macarona pressed her finger against it as the box suddenly opened to reveal a videotape inside. She wondered why that occurred when the lock she supposedly touched was not a mechanical device. As it was a magic seal, the rule of thumb to open something under its safekeeping was that only specific individuals knew how to unlock it.

But perhaps it was best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Shrugging her shoulders, she flew back down to her bike and began to pedal away through the Haunted Forest with the box that she just found with the tape inside nestled in the basket on her handlebars. She knew of one place close by where she could watch the footage, and that was at Crona's house. Macarona raced there at full speed, disappointing the apparitions which had been looking forward to harming her as she returned. Fortunately she didn't get caught and went about her business.

It took a short while to reach the home as the evening was beginning to emerge, though she made it there just in time to find Flavio preparing a body for a few angels and demons who arrived to pick it up for the castle. With them was a body of their own, and Macarona correctly assumed a trade was being made for the fake corpse of Crona's mother. She smiled and silently prayed while closing her eyes, wishing the lady received a proper burial and finally passed on peacefully. Flavio saw her in his peripheral vision and waved to her, gesturing for her to come over. "Macarona," he said casually while signing a form that came with the body, "what brings you back here? I thought this business was already finished. Has something else come up, or are you just here for a visit?" He was unaware of the tape, though he and Crona would know soon enough when Macarona would show it to them. Flavio would be the first since he was here, and he could tell Crona with her.

"Indeed," she nodded, "may I use one of the televisions down in your basement to watch a tape I found in the lighthouse? I think it might have to do with the conspiracy."

"Sure, it's in the room to your left when you go down. I'm afraid I can't join you since we must go exhume the fraud and place the remains of my sister-in-law where they truly belong: in a proper grave instead of some old animatronic weapon."

"Alright, thank you," Macarona bowed as she stepped inside and went downstairs. She saw the door Crona went through on her last visit here and entered into a room filled with old furniture like a dusty couch and a decrepit armchair against two walls with an old desk against a third. Crona and her uncle could have thrown these things out, or maybe they just didn't get to it yet. However, what drew Macarona's attention was a set of monitors on a table in front of the couch, so after she cleared some of the dust off, she sat down and inserted the tape into the VCR which Crona used a good deal to analyze the footage from the museum as concurred from the tapes on the table. Turning it one, she pressed a button on the television to play the footage from the beginning.

An angelic woman was seated at a desk in an office by herself. The décor around her was very old and appeared to be a popular style in the past. _"My name is Clarabella,"_ the woman said to the camera on her so she could record a message for somebody else to watch, _"and I am the last official member of Project Dynol Peiriant. Our work has failed; Germain made a dire oversight."_

Macarona's eyes widened slightly at the reference to something having gone wrong with a critical operation such as that while Clarabella continued speaking to her as if the young angel was actually seated in front of the well-known engineer herself. _"During the testing phase we each had undergone the necessary procedures to ensure the operation was a success. Using the information left behind by the late mage who died of old age before this idea could be seen to fruition, we have set up the animatronics as they were before conducting the tests. Due to issues with Cleopatra and Robin, we have added them to the list of test subjects besides Germain and Leonidas. However, I discovered something was gravely wrong once we placed the hearts inside the contraptions before beginning the first phase of testing. The souls of Leonidas, Cleopatra, and Robin were all fighting the spirit of Germain as he tried to maintain dominance over them."_

So that might've helped explain the ghost around the museum, but there were four ghosts fighting each other in a three on one match between the oppressed and their oppressor. Why had a single apparition survived? Clarabella had the answer to that in her speech.

"_Our spiritual oracle whom he brought on for the project explained this to us all, himself suggesting that we place the experiment on hold temporarily until Germain is successful. Yet Hastur urged us on, threatening to slaughter us for weakening before we started. I don't know who he is and he isn't an official member, but I heard Germain requested he at least observe this to see Germain's wish realized: a world where demons are vanquished along with heretical angels who went against their nature, their people's nature. I am one such angel and so is Robin; Lady Etihw too also met his disapproval. All because of our shared decision to save the baby demon."_

So that was the flaw in Project Dynol Peiriant. Germain sought to control their souls, but a battle not in his favor was his spirit's undoing in the end as the operation was threatened by it.

"_The team of engineers Germain assembled progressed further despite pleas from the oracle whom Hastur killed in an instant for failing to overcome his fear. Secretly I agreed with him, but I had to give the order anyway as I was assigned as the head engineer. I could not abandon my child, the baby demon whose life I willingly chose to save; I feared losing him to Germain, but I have found some comfort in the belief that he has not told other angels like Hastur. But I digress, for we went ahead with the first test and gradually realized we made a mistake."_

Macarona felt sorry for Clarabella having to go through all this for the sake of that baby. It had become a part of her life, so she naturally wanted to protect it at all costs.

"_The oracle wasn't wrong; the experiment failed because Germain couldn't control the other spirits and they all had amalgamated into one being, a misty figure with yellow eyes full of malevolent intent. It killed the whole team except for myself since I escaped; Hastur also left the moment he knew this would fail—he was the first to walk away. I sealed Project Dynol Peiriant up, but another angel I also didn't know immediately attacked me and inflicted a critical wound I am still suffering from. I believe he is another agent of Germain who was kept secret from us. The mage always kept secrets from us and stayed distantly aloof."_

So the mage knew more about it and had other plans of his own. Perhaps he had those two animatronics constructed by another engineering team so he could betray Clarabella and Etihw. It was confirmed in the former's next statement.

_"Some time after this incident I discovered two new animatronics Germain kept hidden in a secret room within the laboratory while I was resting after receiving a harrowing cut from that abomination of spirits produced from the failed test and the other wound. I did some research into what they've become and learned the apparition is a Cyfuno Gwirodydd. Notes on them were also present and as I read through them, I discovered that Germain was secretly planning to purge us anyway for the sake of our people. He wrote that he himself didn't care for politics so long as Lady Etihw's successor was someone who would uphold the fight against evil, and he would even have turned himself in for the crimes of blackmail and going against legitimately official orders."_

A Cyfuno Gwirodydd…so that was the name of the amalgamated spirits formed by Project Dynol Peiriant's failure. Macarona now understood what it was, but she didn't get why it was evil.

_"I've destroyed the notes, but it isn't over. I know Germain is still battling for power over the others in the Cyfuno Gwirodydd, but angels and demons who worked as night guards in the museum have died in the process. It is controlling the animatronics and is killing them all when it can, even if the involved spirits aren't responsible for it. That's just the nature of this one ghost, though I too am responsible for what I've done even though it wasn't my intention to join up with it. The war is over and our respective people are at peace, but I am not; my child is just a couple years old, and I am afraid he will be harmed for the mistake I had to make for him. I do not wish to bear him any more pain, so I must end it all here."_

Macarona shed a tear as Clarabella began to wrap up her final tale.

"_However, should he or his descendants decide to put a stop to all of this, I shall place this recorded footage in a place Germain sought to protect. I am sorry for resorting to it when I could very well put a stop to it myself, but I do not think I'll make it; my guilt weighs heavily on me as does the fear of what might happen should things take a drastic turn if I fail. Though I leave my last gift to you, my child and his family—my family—and anyone else who seeks to end this. Please do so for everyone who died because of this one project, but do not blame the mage for what he's done because he just wanted to do what he thought best for our people even if his methods weren't in line with his good intentions and contradicted them."_

Here Clarabella actually started to smile through the tears pouring down her face. _"Do not forget, my child, that I still love you and will always love you. I shall be by your side in spirit even if I can't be there alive, and I'll always watch over you and our descendants from the afterlife. This is my last gift, and always remember: with light, ships come home."_

That was the end of the recording as Clarabella switched off the camera, but that last line told Macarona all she needed to know as her eyes widened in shock upon hearing a last revelation that she felt was more shocking than other secrets she uncovered in this investigation. Crona was the adopted descendant of Clarabella, and the young demon was blissfully unaware. Without even thinking, Macarona bolted out of the room and up the stairs, forgetting all about the tape she chose to leave behind unconsciously as she ran to her bike and raced towards the castle while night began to fall. She was going to tell Crona the news if she had woken up.

…

"This is a lot of files," the demon commented casually as he and the angel with him sifted through the documents they and the others found in a secret lab sealed up within the room where the Clarabella and Etihw animatronics were originally located. "The one I've got says Germain is responsible for the creation of those two with an engineer named Henrik as the builder."

"Seems like the mage was quite busy in his spare time when not working on that operation," the angel remarked. "I suppose he wanted to betray Lady Etihw. Can't say I know why exactly."

The two men were standing in the security office at the museum while two others watched over the four animatronics used by the staff to please anybody who happened to visit the museum and observe the artwork. Earlier that day the team they've been assigned to discovered that several sections of the basement floor were cemented in to hide another set of areas which were originally part of the animatronic weaponry labs used for Project Dynol Peiriant. Documents and blueprints of other facilities where animatronics were produced were available for public disclosure at the castle's library, but apparently this was the hidden area preserved for the Grey Garden so Germain and Clarabella could continue their work in secret.

"I've heard from some of the other employees that Lady Etihw and Clarabella were hiding a baby demon from the public to protect the little one from harm, so perhaps that might've been a possible motive," his colleague said while rummaging through another box of files by the left door. "Though it's unclear what exactly Germain wanted out of it, aside from this operation of course."

"Hmm," the angel murmured in agreement while checking the basement cameras to watch the other guards as they patrolled the storage rooms. The pottery, sculpture, and painting spaces in there were alright, but the jewelry storage camera showed Germain's crate had been turned around. He took the walkie talkie from his belt and pressed a button on it to contact the demon patrolling that place with another angel. "Hey, you guys should check out the mage's crate. It seems to have moved somehow and I don't know how. Do you know if anyone else besides you was in there?"

"Negative, we've not seen anyone else down here since the late afternoon when everybody else left to prepare the incinerators," came the reply. "Things are quiet down on this end, but we'll take a look and see what's up over there. I've heard a ghost haunts this place, so maybe that could explain the activity you saw. It might be a spirit from this place's past, possibly one of the angels still lingering around. We can try to appease it however best we can."

"Alright, over and out," the angel finished the conversation as his buddy came up to him.

"I'm sure glad we brought in another generator to power these cameras," he remarked while the footage remained on the jewelry workshop. "I like the feeling of knowing what's going on so we can be prepared for anything that could go wrong."

"Indeed," his friend agreed, "though only the basement is receiving power. Something may be happening upstairs, but at least I've got this monitor here on the area by the elevator in the event someone or something descends to this level." He finished speaking as the two guards entered the jewelry storage and approached Germain's crate before that camera died.

"Damn it, this camera went out," the demon swore under his breath as the angel pulled the walkie talkie up once again to contact them.

"Hey, we've just lost power to the camera on the jewelry storage," he remarked, but not a sound came through from the other end when he received no response. "You guys there?"

The two of them waited silently for a few moments, but nothing was heard. It was as if the walkie talkie just died as well. They turned to look at one another, knowing the ghost must've used the power from these things to acquire energy for itself. "Wait here, I'm going to inform them of this," the demon spoke up before walking out.

"Alright, just be careful," the angel said while averting his attention to the box of files on the table. He pored over the documents for a couple minutes before a loud mechanical screech got his attention when it startled him. "You alright out there?!" he called out, getting up from the chair he sat in and taking a step closer to the right door when the demon's body careened into the wall. "Hey, buddy, you okay?!" he shouted in concern as he quickly rushed to his friend, but was thrown back into the other hallway and fell unconscious from the blow like his friend. They hadn't seen it coming even though they suspected it, so they were caught unaware as he attacked them.

Germain walked over to the angel and stood above him momentarily. His eyes were quite normal instead of their dark-eyed state with the white pupils, but he was perfectly aware of actions on his own behalf. It had taken him a long time to escape imprisonment in the Cyfuno Gwirodydd, and now his spirit was in full control of his animatronic. His heart, which had somehow survived the test of time, began beating in normal succession and it felt good to hear the sound of it beat.

It was up to him to restore the natural order of things among his people, to show them that they were wrong to deny their traditional culture of fighting demons. He had become aware of the peace between them after he died while watching over this world from the afterlife. Though he did understand why the peace was established, he could not accept it. This was not their way of life.

Slowly walking to the switch, he flipped it to unseal the main entrance before leaving the security office. Germain could feel his old magical abilities returning, but in this animatronic state he could only cast adept level spells instead of the expert and master spells he learned late in life. It was a critical setback to his plan as was the failure of Project Dynol Peiriant, though he wouldn't surrender. The mage was going to follow through on his mission and die trying; he would certainly fail, but not without making an impact to leave behind an imprint of the final vestiges of traditions his people had maintained in the past before establishing the peace angels and demons now knew. The clearest way of accomplishing that was to begin with Clarabella's descendant.

…

**The final night is coming up! It won't be like any of the other nights because it is the climax of this story. That's right, **_Seven Nights at Clarabella's_** has been building up to it, and a final confrontation with Germain will be underway in the next chapter. It might not be as long this chapter or some of the others, but I'll try to get a good lengthy fight in it.**

**And yes, Crona is in fact Clarabella's adopted descendant. As I've been emphasizing her importance in this story, I can finally confirm that information. It's probably difficult to wrap one's head around, I know, but I have been going somewhere with the baby demon. It might not be what you expected, but that's the direction I was going in.**

**Cyfuno Gwirodydd is Welsh for amalgamated spirits. I should use Welsh with Google Translate more often; there's some good translations there. Dynol Peiriant and the name of this ghost are good examples of it.**

**I've also teased the first of two characters I've mentioned. Hastur shall be appearing in another story I'm thinking of doing. Aside from his brief mention in this chapter, his name comes from Hastur of the Cthulhu Mythos. In the Mythos, Hastur is Cthulhu's brother and is known as the King in Yellow. Before his inclusion in the Mythos, he was a benevolent deity in Ambrose Bierce's story, Haita the Shepherd. Other authors who invoked him for different purposes besides H.P. Lovecraft and Ambrose include Robert W. Chambers, Neil Gaiman, and Terry Pratchett. Robert used Hastur as a person and place in his works while the other two authors incorporated him into their novel, Good Omens. You can find this information on Wikipedia and check out more of it is you're interested.**

**I hope you enjoy reading this story as I enjoy writing.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hastur; he is owned by those other authors mentioned above.**

**Edit: I forget to mention above that the magic system I am using for Germain comes from the Elder Scrolls series. I don't own the Elder Scrolls; it's owned by Bethesda.**


	14. Chapter Fourteen: The Seventh Night

"Damn her…How dare her…" Crona sniffed, hugging one of the pillows to her chest while tears rolled down onto the other one. She was facing away from the door, but those tears were now beginning to wet the side of the pillow her face was on. Turning over away from the window which showed the clear, night sky, Crona closed her eyes and scrunched her face in anger. "Why? Which side is that damn goddess on, anyway? Are we all just toys for her to play with and break however she pleases?" She sighed, choking out a few sobs into the pillow she held for comfort even though what she sought could not be found in a simple pillow.

Etihw's sudden revelation had been an unwelcome shock even though the demon suspected her mother's corpse was found inside the Clarabella animatronic. The tidbits Wodahs and her uncle had provided prior to it were enough to warrant that suspicion, so she was all the more afraid when they wouldn't answer her until the goddess broke the silence for them. And break it she did, for it was a powerful statement that made her bones quake with fear because the impact it had upon her was immense. Etihw would've likely said it was so she could know the truth, and while Crona did want it, what she said wasn't a truth the demon wanted to accept because she was terrified.

What frightened her more than anything was discovering that her mother's corpse was not in its casket as it should've been and that the real cadaver was actually inside an animatronic. One that could have killed her just like its attempts at Macarona's life. It was a terrible truth, something she so desperately wanted to reject because of the gravity surrounding it, how something like that had a ton of weight to it so the revelation could sink in deeper after the crushing impact was felt.

"Damn you, Etihw…" Crona repeated her displeasure of the goddess despite having hardly met her in person before today. She got glimpses of her in the past a couple times when her mother brought her to work when the young demon was still a child, but Etihw never made an impact until today when she made the remark that her mother's dead body was found inside an animatronic. It was an insult to her since now she knew Etihw contributed to her mother's death—had she known about the goddess' conversation with Macarona earlier, she might have come to a different belief. As it was, however, Crona began to despise Etihw with every fiber of her being. "You sent her to her death and did nothing," she choked some more sobs out, tears of sorrow turning to tears of her rage against the goddess. "Just like with the war…sending your angels to their deaths. Nobody is your damn messenger to the grave. You want to go to Hell, head there yourself."

It was sad, really. Crona felt she had every reason to take revenge against the goddess, but she knew it was futile. Etihw was far stronger than her, and she realized the goddess could basically destroy her or seal her up like she did to her ancestors, the other demons, and Kcalb in the past. If she were to ever go against her and take her anger out on Etihw physically by going farther than the insults she spat at her before, there was a high chance she would be punished with death, exile, or worse for attempting to murder the goddess. Crona couldn't do that if it meant her uncle would be alone, so all she could do was take the pain in and bottle it up. Her rage might boil over, probably explode from being sealed up for so long as it continued to overheat. Yet she just had to deal with it, but at the very least she didn't have to forgive Etihw and could just hate her forever. It was not much, but it was the best Crona could do considering her enemy was a goddess and she was but a mere demon compared to her—a demon powerless to avenge her mother's death. One of the foulest murderers was going to get away with it, and there was nothing she could do but hate her for it.

Crona sighed in irritated frustration, closing her eyes briefly as a figure hovered outside. It went unnoticed by her momentarily even as she gradually opened her eyes as narrow slits filled to the brim with somber sorrow. Realization slowly kicked it when she noticed the shadow, and Crona whirled around in bed as her eyes fell upon an all too familiar animatronic. She went pale while it came closer to the window, and she could see the hostility in its eyes. Crona's eyes widened when it suddenly broke the window, sending shards of glass everywhere. It reached in to steal her away as Crona screamed in terror, failing to escape the mage's wrath.

…

The scream rang throughout the floor Crona was on and the two above and below it as well. Macarona and all the castle attendants and patients heard it clearly, but she was the only one who knew what it meant even as some of the healers ran to the room with her. "Crona!" she shouted in concern as she burst through the door with a few healers to find her friend in Germain's grasp. She could see the intense fear in Crona's eyes, and she became aware of what the mage was doing. He held her firmly as the demon struggled in his grasp, his hand over her mouth to muffle her screams of terror and prevent her from calling for help while his other arm was around her torso as Crona helplessly kicked him in an attempt to free herself so she could fly away. Unfortunately, his grasp was too strong because this was his animatronic state, so her attempt was fruitless and pitiful.

As the healers tried to intervene while one of them ran for help, Macarona's eyes narrowed in determination and anger as she immediately rushed to the mage ahead of her. "Let her go!" she screamed at him before getting smacked away by a force field of magical power. She crashed into the bed after being sent back through the window and it fell over while the healers helped her up. Although they tried to keep her back because it was too dangerous, Macarona disregarded them as she flew through the window again to pursue Germain while he withdrew from the scene.

…

"Are you all sure you're okay to continue guarding the museum?" Kcalb inquired while he spoke to the guards who had been knocked out by the mage. After they all affirmed they were okay to watch over the museum, Kcalb nodded and beckoned a couple healers over to them. "Make sure they're alright while they proceed with their duties," he instructed them. "Split up into two groups as before with a healer in each one. Do your best to keep the others inside until they're removed."

They saluted him and went about their duties as Kcalb levitated up through the shaft to the first floor after passing by some more angels and demons on their way to collect the files recovered from the hidden lab. He nodded at them as thanks for them doing their duties and they nodded too in response. Upon crossing the threshold of the elevator door upstairs, he headed over to his brother in the center of the lobby doing some administrative work relevant to the assemblage of files they gathered in stacks. "Looks like that's half of what we found," he remarked as Wodahs nodded.

"Indeed, there are still some that need to be catalogued. We're finishing up with this batch right here," he motioned to the documents he and a few subordinates were handling.

"Good, though I'm going to have to pull you away from this to head one of the teams we've constructed to hunt down Germain," Kcalb commented as his brother put down the check sheet.

"Understood," he said before turning to the others to address them, "I'll leave this to you."

The two of them walked outside to four teams of five angels and five demons each. It was a force of twenty soldiers in total with the devil and Head Angel as leaders of the main two.

"Alright," Wodahs began to address them, "we have selected you all for this mission since you are some of our best fighters in the Grey Garden. Our target is one of the animatronics; though we must be careful as this particular animatronic is Germain, the mage. Be vigilant and alert during your search of the area and keep in touch with one another. Teams One and Two shall be manned by my brother and I respectively. Team Three shall remain in Grey Village to protect the citizens and Team Four shall stay here at the museum in the event Germain returns."

"Remember, we are not dealing with an ordinary animatronic," Kcalb went on for him. "I have thoroughly sensed the spiritual power in this building and concluded it's a Cyfuno Gwirodydd which is an apparition comprised of amalgamated spirits. During my investigation, I sensed a spirit from it had broken away earlier and now the whole thing is starting to dissipate. Continued analysis on my part has revealed that the Cyfuno Gwirodydd inside the museum consisted of all four spirits of angels the animatronics are based upon. Upon breaking free from it, Germain appeared to have regained some of his abilities. The mage might not be a significant threat, but be careful regardless. Our opponent is the ghost of a once powerful angelic mage, so be cautious in your encounter with him. The mages in each team should buffer the warriors with magical resistance to protect them in combat against Germain while they attack him head on as the mages also prepare a barrier to seal him in." Kcalb raised his arm and quickly lowered it, a gesture indicated they were to head out for their target right away. "You all have your instructions, so let's move."

…

They flew over the treetops of the Haunted Forest, his spirit levitating the animatronic and his captive continuing her struggle for freedom. Germain's grip was tight so Crona couldn't escape him, but that didn't mean he would get away easily since her fight would draw attention to him. It already did back at the castle and Macarona was still following him as he could see when he looked back at her. She was a mere girl compared to him, so Germain wasn't worried about her; she was not a threat to him since he could adequately handle her and dispose of her at will. Although he'd been sorry about it, he still had to finish this for traditional angelic culture.

For her part, Macarona beat her wings faster and faster as she exerted more effort to prevent the mage from whatever he was doing. She had obviously not encountered this behavior from him back at the museum, but she was undaunted in her task to save Crona. Her heart beat rapidly while she sped up to reach them, and Macarona could feel the pain caused by her weak constitution when she applied more strength to them. The young angel breathed deeply and panted heavily before the moment came when Germain turned his head back to watch where he was going. That was her cue to shine, so Macarona took a deep breath and rushed him from behind in an attempt to knock him off balance which would force the mage's grip to free the demon. Crona was going to fall if those wings of hers were hurt or didn't have energy to fly due to Robin's assault on her and the spell that put her to sleep earlier that day. However, Macarona would be there to catch her and bring Crona to a safe spot for the time being while she fought the mage one on one.

Though it appeared Germain predicted this as he suddenly whirled around to summon his force field again. Yet Macarona fell for this once and would not run into it again, so she flew by it and charged the mage from his side. "Release her right now!" she shouted as Germain brought his hand down from the demon's mouth and extended it forward. A ball of fire generated in his palm and he propelled it forward, forcing the younger angel to dodge out of the way before she attacked by delivering a harsh punch to his right eye. The blow was so severe it knocked the eye out which meant he had to rely on the dark eye socket and white pupil to see. In addition to the damage, the assault made him lose his grasp on Crona and she almost fell out. Luckily Macarona caught her in time and retreated deeper into the trees towards a safe area where spirits couldn't roam.

A small shrine with an altar resided in a little grove the ghosts refused to go by. Macarona dropped Crona off there and stood by her for a few moments to make sure she was okay. "Are you alright, Crona? I'm glad I was able to make it time."

"Yeah, thanks," the demon responded as her friend helped her sit down on a few steps. "I am grateful for your aid. You really saved me a second time." Crona smiled up at the angel, a joke on her mind to lighten the mood. "I don't know what I owe you, but at the very least I can convert you into my own guardian angel," she said as they both chuckled.

"It's okay, you don't owe me anything at all," Macarona shook her head. "It's what friends are for," she replied as Crona nodded in agreement.

"Yeah…" she spoke softly, "friends…" Unfortunately, their tender moment of friendship was ruined as Crona quickly pointed up at the sky. "Look out!" she cried out as Macarona whirled around and started running through the forest with her when a sudden bolt of lightning struck the shrine, causing it to explode into pieces.

Watching them flee, Germain clenched his fist as he grew impatient with them while he prepared a fireball to ignite the trees and cause a forest fire. He aimed that magical energy down at them, hoping the widespread flames would trap them somewhere and also purge this world of their existence. The mage felt the raw energy of the fire singe the animatronic's metal skin, but it caused him no pain because he was still a ghost. Though he apparently waited too long to shoot it as an arrow struck the flame, dispersing the spell into fragments of elemental magic that dissipated into nothing. Turning to the direction where the arrow came from, Germain felt more frustrated at the appearance of these sudden visitors who planned on getting in his way.

Approaching from his right side, Kcalb motioned for the angels and demons in his team to surround the animatronic as he pointed his blade at Germain. "We meet for the first time, Germain. I've heard of your commitment to your people and how skilled you are at magic; though it appears you haven't regained your full power yet unless that state you're in limits it. Nonetheless, we have been looking for you and have finally found you," he explained out of courtesy for his opponent. "Germain, you are responsible for violating a direct, unanimous rejection of a council's authority and Etihw's ruling in that meeting where you proposed Project Dynol Peiriant. You are also held accountable for several deaths of angels and demons as a result of that operation and for beginning the conspiracy against Etihw and Clarabella even after you blackmailed them into aiding you. You are surrounded and outnumbered; I respect your abilities, but the odds aren't in your favor."

Germain tipped his head down, annoyed that he had to deal with these interruptions in his way. He knew Kcalb was correct, however, and so he couldn't do anything but withdraw for now. Holding his hand out with the palm facing up, Germain summoned another fireball and blew it up with a lightning bolt fired from underneath it, a trick adepts would begin to learn prior to becoming experts. The combination of these two elemental spells produced a bright flash which blinded the team of angels and demons so the mage could escape without having to fight a losing battle.

Seconds later Kcalb and the others uncovered their eyes and saw he was gone as one of the angels spoke up. "Lord Kcalb, it appears he fled. Shall we search the area by this location to check how far he made good his escape?" he inquired to which the devil nodded in response.

"Yes, but hurry; I believe he was also fighting someone else just now. It couldn't have been my brother's team since they are in the northern part of the forest. Find out where he went and the identity or identities of his other opponents and offer that party aid. Let's go!"

…

They spent a good fifteen minutes of running through the trees, dodging other malevolent ghosts that inhabited these woods while en route to another shrine. It was a good thing those things dotted the region in several areas so travelers and explorers to these parts could take a breather as they became tuckered out by avoiding or fighting the apparitions. Luckily that was just the spiritual welcome party they received; the more fearful undead like zombies, wraiths, and vampires weren't occupants of the surface forest. They usually remained in various caves throughout the region with the exception of the vampires who emerged to find fresh victims to drink blood from and turn into thralls of their dominion. An unpleasant experience delving into those caverns, but thrilling for the few brave enough to spelunk for treasures and adventure while fighting otherworldly monsters.

As Macarona and Crona weaved through the trees together, they finally emerged into a big grove near the heart of the Haunted Forest and rushed to the shrine. This time it was a building in the middle of nowhere, an establishment with just one room and an altar inside for praying. It was largely empty and bare aside from the altar, so the two girls quickly went inside and breathed sighs of relief when they finally found shelter in a sanctuary that provided it. "Man, I've never ran that fast in my entire life," Macarona commented as she leaned against a wall and purposely slumped to the floor while Crona sat down and sidled up next to her. "I thought I'd run out of breath."

"Same here," Crona nodded in agreement as they panted heavily, feeling her heart slowly settle down now that they were resting. "I was never really athletic since I usually preferred books and helping my uncle run the house and the cemetery while working as a night guard. I'm surprised we got away unharmed and didn't get chased by Germain right away. What do you think happened to him anyway?" she inquired as Macarona shrugged.

"Beats me," she said matter-of-factly, "but I know his spirit was fighting the other ghosts of Robin, Leonidas, and Cleopatra while they were amalgamated into a Cyfuno Gwirodydd when Project Dynol Peiriant failed. That was actually the cause of it as a matter of fact."

"I heard about those kinds of apparitions," Crona said, turning to look at Macarona. "They are usually formed by ghosts fighting each other for dominance over whatever the conflict is about. A Cyfuno Gwirodydd is quite rare according to a book on paranormal folklore I've got which says they can only come together as one when the spirits are of equal power."

"Clarabella said it was a three on one match between Germain and the others, so that might be the cause of its creation," Macarona concurred as Crona raised an eyebrow at this.

"Wait, what? How?"

"I found a videotape in the lighthouse by Germain's house, the building we did not go in," Macarona explained, deciding that now was the best time to relate this information to her despite being in danger from the mage. "It was a recording Clarabella left behind of herself to explain the outcome of what happened with the operation. I left the tape at your house when I arrived to share the news with you, so you can watch it sometime at home later."

Crona nodded. "Alright, thank you. My uncle and I will be sure to look at it. That is, if you and I get out of this sticky situation we got ourselves into."

"Don't worry, we will," Macarona assured her. "After all, with light, ships come home."

That got Crona's attention. "That saying…it was something my mother always said—well, when she first started using it, that is, after a trip through this forest with some friends to seek out an area where a train station could be established for faster travel throughout the Grey Garden. She liked that phrase a lot, so I started using it myself as has my uncle. He brought it up, did he?"

"Yes, but he wasn't the only one I heard it from," Macarona went on with a smile. "There was another individual who used that phrase as well besides you three."

Crona was confused, but she decided to bite. "Who? Nobody else in my family ever said it and I know for a fact my uncle and I are the only ones left who use it."

Macarona grinned and closed her eyes. Crona was going to be surprised with this revelation as it was an unexpected discovery to her, though the angel decided to casually lead her into it. "It was Clarabella; she said it at the end of her recording."

"Clarabella knew the saying?!" Crona exclaimed in surprise, unaware of the direction her friend was taking her in. "How?! She and I aren't even related at all! We're completely different! She's an angel from the past and I'm a demon from the present! It makes no sense!"

"Not by blood, yes," Macarona confirmed that tie for the demon before progressing with a crucial point she had already brought up before in her friend's presence, "but do you recall before when I mentioned that baby demon Clarabella rescued from the encampment?"

Crona blinked, forming a vague idea in her head of what Macarona was talking about, yet she was still really baffled as to what that had to do with her mother's favorite phrase. "Y-yeah, I do, but how is it relevant to this? I still don't get it."

Macarona put her hand on her friend's shoulder and finally put forth the revelation Crona needed to hear. "Crona, that baby demon she rescued was your ancestor. Clarabella had adopted it as her own, thus becoming your foster ancestor," she finished with a smile as the demon blinked.

"She…what?" Crona's eyes widened in complete shock as she turned pale, slowly putting two and two together while trying to fit the pieces in her mind. "Clarabella is my…foster ancestor? She saved my grandfather and adopted him? He was her son?" she inquired, still incredibly baffled at the prospect of being related to an angelic woman she never met because said angel was already dead. The truth of it was gravely startling for individuals in that predicament because it meant what they already knew about their heritage would have probably been a lie. It probably wasn't in regard to Crona's case since she might not have even known her grandfather.

Nonetheless, Macarona nodded to confirm it with her and the demon unaware that Germain was approaching the shrine. "Yeah, she said it herself. Clarabella said she'd always watch over her family from the afterlife and protect them, and she loved your family very much even though she couldn't be there in person anymore. She instructed Miss Etihw to leave your grandfather with another family—a family of demons—since she committed suicide out of guilt, but she was always with your family in spirit because she is a part of you. Clarabella is a member of your family."

Tears slowly welled up in Crona's eyes as she began to choke out a few sobs, sad that she never knew about her foster ancestor and happy her grandfather was saved by her. "I-I…I'd never known my…m-my grandfather. H-he passed away before I-I…was born, s-so he c-couldn't…"

Embracing her friend in a tight hug, Macarona held the demon close as she smiled warmly to help cheer her up. "There, there…it'll all be alright. Once we're out of this, you can go visit her grave and catch up with her. Spend time with her and your family. I suspect your grandfather had known about Clarabella because he was still just a small child when Miss Etihw left him with that other family, so he may have remembered her from the few years she spent raising him."

"You think my mother figured it out from him?" Crona inquired softly through her tears as she looked up to make eye contact with the angel as her friend nodded.

"I'm sure of it, so don't worry. You can visit their graves like I said and ask them all about it," Macarona said before she and Crona cried out as a large crystal infused and structured by magic pierced the wall above them as the girls ducked to avoid it even though it didn't hit them. "But we should get out of here first, though I don't think Germain will go down without a fight."

"Then what do we do?!" Crona demanded while more magical crystals shot through their sanctuary. "This guy's going to pursue us throughout the whole forest, and we're also lost to boot! We'll be killed if we run away, but we'll also be killed anyway if we stay in here!"

Macarona smiled as she crawled over to the door and stood up while dodging another spray of crystals. "It'll be alright, Crona," she said confidently, "I'll take him, so you just hide in here."

Crona's eyes widened again. "What, that's crazy! He's a mage, you're no match for him!"

"Maybe," Macarona responded while grabbing the door to slide it open, "but do remember I did say I've fought against a devil before. I know what I'm doing, so I should be alright. Besides, you're in no condition to really exert yourself for much longer even though I myself have a weak constitution. Even so, I'm not going to sit around and do nothing but cower in fear before him. I'll fight him, Crona, so stay here. I promise to be careful," she finished her brief, courageous speech.

"A-are you sure you w-want to do this?" Crona inquired nervously as more crystals pierced the walls. "W-what if you die? You won't survive, or at least make it out the door."

"I still have to try," Macarona said to reassure her, "otherwise we'll die sitting here doing nothing; and if I fail, we die, but you get the point. Just trust me, alright? I'm fully aware of what needs to be done, so don't worry about me. I'll be careful."

Crona swallowed a lump in her throat as she hesitated to respond, but she nonetheless was reluctant in giving her approval. "O-okay, I'll trust you. Just come back safely, promise?"

"I promise," Macarona said as she finally opened the door and rushed out, closing it behind her so her friend could be safe inside. Afterwards she ran down the steps and hurried out near the center of the grove to face Germain and put a stop to his attacks. She stopped where she was to see him emerging from the shadows, and for a moment Macarona swore she could see his spirit gazing at her with disapproval because she interfered with his plans. "Germain!" she shouted out to him, "you shall no longer do as you please! It ends here! I won't let you harm Crona and our world!"

Her words went unheeded as more crystals materialized around him and were about to zoom past her, but Macarona blew them away with a powerful gust created by flapping her wings once with added oomph. The crystals were deflected to other parts of the grove as they spun out of control and fell, the harm they would've done unto Crona diverted since the range of that attack was also too close to Crona's guardian angel. "Don't ignore me, Germain, I'm your opponent!"

Tipping his head in frustration, Germain held his hand out and began to fire lightning bolts at Macarona as she ran past them all while closing the gap between her and the mage. It was close, and Germain realized what her plan was he began to back away and try levitating. Unfortunately, the animatronic was too slow to really maneuver quickly and he didn't want to get spotted from a second group of angels and demons or the same team from before. Acknowledging his weaknesses, the mage constructed a shield of fire around himself to keep Macarona from coming closer. Seeing his sudden defense demonstrated that he was not really as strong Macarona made him out to be.

Smiling since she now had the advantage, Macarona proceeded to push him back further. She was hoping his flame shield would start a small fire even if it meant risking Crona's life and hers too, but it could hopefully draw more attention from Blancblack Castle if anybody there saw it. Germain knew this too, especially since there was already a team looking for him; unbeknownst to him, however, was the fact that another team was also searching for his whereabouts as well. If he wanted to get out of this fight without attracting too much attention, he had to risk avoiding her by trying to rush past her. She would very well flank him, so Germain had to focus on her first.

Another powerful flap of her wings dispelled the fire shield, so he couldn't summon it once again in that form. That was when Macarona made her move and shot forward to close the gap. It was still a short distance away, but she was rapidly gaining on him. The mage conjured up another force field and intended to propel her away at the last moment, but the younger angel froze in her tracks and prepared her fist for a massive blow. She brought it forward at a fast speed, and Germain hoped her attack would be futile despite having felt the full force of a previous punch to his face. Yet he made a misconception when assessing her strength, unaware of how strong Macarona really was until her fist connected with the force field. It rippled suddenly before the sheer force of that blow shattered the magical shield into pieces. Caught off guard, Germain failed to counter her next attack as Macarona seized his arm and ran under it before bending the mechanical thing. It buckled within her grasp, but the thing stayed firm as she tried to rip it off and failed when the mage made use of a lightning bolt to her torso to not only shock her, but also shove Macarona away into a tree.

The shock of the impact nearly made her unconscious, but Macarona was fortunate to keep her wits about her as she dodged to the left to avoid another set of crystal shards Germain fired at her. Yet the lightning bolt to her chest had dealt severe damage and she was almost faintly on her knees for a few moments as she staggered, breathing heavily while attempting to dodge more of a second burst of crystals which the mage charged with electricity. Most of them flew by harmlessly as they became embedded within the tree trunks, thankfully not starting a fire since the discharge of electricity was low, but one left a deep gash across Macarona's forearm and made her wince in pain due to the elemental power and the cut. Panting heavily, Macarona fell to one knee and looked at the wound, scrunching her face in pain as she ducked to avoid a lightning bolt before staggering to her feet and running again. She weaved through spell after spell Germain cast at her, aware that she wasn't going to last much longer; though she would take the mage with her to oblivion.

Her quick sprint had slowed even while she approached him as she dodged the magic that was thrown at her. Germain felt sorry for his opponent and decided to show her mercy with but a single strike that would end her life so she wouldn't have to suffer anymore. However, Macarona was too close as she ducked under another spell and made a second attempt for the same arm she'd wounded before. She successfully seized it again because he didn't have time to cast a force field for protection, and with one more ounce of pure strength she ripped the arm off completely before a lightning bolt to her back sent Macarona flying and skidding across the grove into another tree.

"MACARONA!" Crona called in terror as she watched the fight unfold before her while the mage hurled several shards of crystals at her. The demon ducked under them and fell backwards as Germain prepared another lightning bolt to finish her off, but turned his attention back towards his other opponent who was now staggering to her feet.

"N-no!" Macarona yelled at him as she tried to stand and fell to her knees, crouching above the ground with her hands pressed against as she breathed heavily. Her heart was pounding as she realized this final spell would likely be the end of her. Even so, she couldn't give up. "I-I will not allow it! I won't let you harm Crona! She is Clarabella's descendant and her legacy!"

Germain tipped his head in deep thought. Yes, he respected Macarona and Crona for going far in their investigation, but he could not allow them to live as per his obligation to the traditional values of his people. Once upon a time the angels of his world were at war with demons, a natural destiny that should have stayed the way it was because that's how it always was in that world and others like it. He realized those times were gone, but he was going to die fighting for them just as Macarona and Crona would die for the Grey Garden. He didn't blame them for that because that's just what it was as a fight between traditions and new ideals. If his animatronic could sigh, it would. Nonetheless, the mage had a duty to fulfill for traditional values and he saw it through.

Macarona saw the lightning bolt and knew she couldn't dodge it. It was over…

Had something not gotten in her way to block the attack as a massive smokescreen of dust from the ground arose while the lightning bolt was deflected into the sky.

…

Over by a nearby river where Wodahs' team was searching, one of the demons in his own party noticed the lightning bolt and called out to the Head Angel. "Mr. Wodahs, sir! Look there!"

"I see it!" he responded while motioning for one of the angels to contact his brother's team.

"It came from one of the shrines!" another demon exclaimed as Wodahs gestured for them to move out towards the intended destination where they would find Germain.

"Let's move out!" he ordered as they all headed towards the shrine.

…

Having shut her eyes to prepare for the worst, Macarona suddenly opened them at the sound of lightning striking metal and bouncing off harmlessly into the sky. There was dust all over which clouded her line of sight, but she could make out a figure towering above her with his back towards her. She thought she recognized him from somewhere and her eyes widened when she realized the one who saved her was none other than the warrior. "Leonidas!" she gasped as he turned his head back and nodded at her while she felt a warm, healing aura surround her. Turning to her right, she saw Cleopatra extended her staff out to mend her wounds as she stood by Leonidas. "Cleopatra!"

If those two were here, where was Robin? Macarona whipped her head around to find the archer before her eyes finally settled on the shrine where she saw a bunch of crystals that pierced the spot where Crona was. But the demon wasn't there, however, as she was on the roof in Robin's grasp as the archer held her in a protective grip before jumping down with her. She gently pushed Crona behind her and drew the bow slung on her back with an arrow nocked on the string.

"Robin…" Crona murmured as the archer silently nodded, holding her arrow steady while Cleopatra finished healing Macarona and quickly pointed her staff at the two to summon pillars of light which blocked another round of crystals Germain fired at them just as Robin let the arrow fly so it could be struck by the lightning bolt the mage shot next to prevent it from connecting. After that she nocked two arrows and took aim from where she was as Leonidas rushed forward to strike at Germain. However, the mage dodged the warrior's slashes and attempted to fire more crystals, but Leonidas' shield deflected them as he bashed it against the mage to catch his animatronic off of its balance. That was when Cleopatra turned to Macarona and nodded.

Understanding what she needed to do, the young angel returned the gesture and ran forward as Leonidas and Germain duked it out while she joined the fray. The mage cast a force field so the warrior's attacks could be deflected, but Macarona got right in between and smashed it easily with one of her powerful punches. It shattered like the other one, and Germain knew he couldn't create another one with her around since she would just destroy it again. Instead he made a fireball so he could burn these two, but Leonidas was prepared for it and moved swiftly to cut off his opponent's hand. The blow made Germain step backwards as it connected even though his arm was still ready to cast another spell as it was still attached, yet Macarona once again closed the distance.

The force of her next punch sent him reeling backwards as Germain's spirit tried to balance the animatronic, but it gave the warrior another opportunity to sever the arm. Without two arms to effectively cast elemental spells, he could only rely on crystal shards for dealing damage because he needed arms to focus other particular spells. Although he knew this was going to be the end for him, Germain quickly forced more of those shards into existence and fired them towards all of his opponents. Cleopatra blocked them easily by creating more pillars of light to protect herself as Robin fired more arrows while Leonidas blocked them with his shield. Macarona made sure to stand behind him as he got in front of her so they could get away from the shards unscathed, and when they were gone she rushed out from behind him to deal a final strike against the mage.

This was it, the final blow. She formed her hand into a fist and prepared to deal a powerful punch to Germain's face as he attempted to summon more shards which broke amongst light pillars Cleopatra summoned around him. Immediately running towards him, Macarona took one last step and leapt up to reach his head while she finally buried her fist in the animatronic's face. The impact sent it flying back several yards as it bounced and eventually skidded to a halt as the other eye fell out with more parts, but Germain had one more trick up his sleeve. The dark sockets with white pupils glinted for a moment before Macarona caught sight of a final crystal materializing in midair while shooting towards Crona at a fast speed. "CRONA!"

Startled by the angel's scream, the demon glanced up to see what caught her friend's sight and screamed as the crystal came down on her. Her legs gave way as she fell to the ground in fear, cowering as Robin whirled around and tried to shoot it out of the air, but the arrow merely reflected off it because Germain imbued the rest of his power into it. The crystal was going to kill Crona as it spiraled towards her…before suddenly slowing down as two spiritual hands suddenly seized it.

Out of nowhere the rest of the spirit formed while the crystal's descent slowed somewhat, but not enough completely. If Crona moved to escape, she would at least avoid certain death even though she would suffer a critical injury. Yet she didn't move as the spirit holding the crystal could now be made out clearer than when it first appeared in the form of an older demon with the same hair color and wings as Crona, but attired in a green blouse and a long, black skirt. Instantly Crona recognized who it was as she called out to the spirit. "Mother!"

The crystal came closer and closer, but another spirit materialized in an instant as Crona's mother released the crystal so this newcomer could smash it by shooting her arm out to grasp it to completely shatter the shard. Dressed in a casual white robe similar to the one Etihw wore, she let the crystalized dust blow away in the wind as she and the other spirit looked down at Crona to give her smiles from each of them. _"Like I always said,"_ the spirit, who Macarona recognized as none other than Clarabella herself, said as Crona's mother chuckled, _"with light, ships come home."_

Crona blinked, wondering just who this spirit was. "Who…?" she asked as her mother gave Clarabella a smile before presenting her daughter with another.

"_Don't tell me you don't recognize her, Crona. You and your friend over there have been researching her as of late in addition to Project Dynol Peiriant. She's your great-grandmother."_

Crona's eyes widened in shock. "M-my…great-grandmother?"

Clarabella nodded to affirm it as Crona's eyes became watery while she began to cry. She leapt to her feet and drew her arms around them as they embraced their loving daughter and great-granddaughter in a tight, family hug. Macarona smiled at them as Robin slung her bow back onto her back while Cleopatra walked over to Leonidas and stood with him. She enjoyed this peaceful familial moment between Crona, her mother, and Clarabella, taking heart in the cherished love the three of them shared. It was like a beautiful work of art in real life.

The shifting of something else caught her attention just then as Macarona turned to witness Germain's animatronic struggle into a sitting position as his own spirit materialized. He turned to look at the others before casting his head down in shame, having failed to make a solid impact on this world on behalf of the old traditions of his fellow angels.

"It's over, Germain," Macarona said calmly as she went over to him, "the Grey Garden left the conflict of old behind in favor for everlasting peace between angels and demons. I know you won't accept it and I understand that, though I will not sit idly by while you attempt to destroy the harmony everyone has created. What happened will be a part of our past forever, but together we can build a better future—a future where we no longer fight each other. That future is already here and now, and everyone shall do their best to ensure history does not repeat itself on this point."

He silently closed his eyes in deep thought, knowing that he had no choice but to resign to his fate since he had lost. Using a last bit of magic, Germain willed open the compartment his heart was in and allowed the younger angel to remove it, whereupon his soul passed on. Macarona hoped he would receive a fair judgment in the afterlife because of his good intentions despite how he'd gone about implementing them. She watched him dematerialize into a ball of light and watched as it soared into the sky above while Cleopatra walked over and opened up her own heart to the young angel as she gently pulled out the beating heart so the healer could pass on too.

Leonidas was the next to come, but instead of opening his compartment he handed her the sword he wielded. Although Macarona was confused for a bit, Clarabella came over and smiled at her. _"He would be honored if you were the one to give him a soldier's death,"_ she explained briefly as the warrior turned around and knelt down while Macarona nodded. She understood the concept from reading a few history books and a couple anthropological studies as well.

"Very well," she agreed to oblige him before bringing the sword down after Clarabella had provided it with some spiritual power to make the strike go through effectively. After it pierced a good bit of metal, the blade finally connected with his heart and cut through as Leonidas' own soul materialized while he turned his head and smiled, grateful for her aid and for her being a comrade in arms against Germain. He too turned into a ball of light and ascended to join the other two while Clarabella and Macarona walked over to the others. "That went rather well, right Crona? I told you I'd come out of this alright." the young angel remarked as the demon smiled at her.

"Yeah, you did," Crona responded as her mother and Clarabella moved away from them. "I honestly thought you were a goner for a moment there until Leonidas and Cleopatra saved you. I still can't believe the other animatronics came to our aid; I thought for sure they were burned to a crisp by now in those incinerators. They must've broken out of the museum or away from where they'd been taken after being removed from there."

"_They only came to help,"_ her mother remarked, _"after Germain freed himself, the others slowly emerged as individual spirits afterwards. Knowing they couldn't fully well aid you girls in the fight against the mage, they possessed their animatronics and rushed to your aid. I'm just glad we all made it in time. Clarabella and I certainly wouldn't want to see our last heir extinguished."_

"Yes, Mother," Crona bowed her head in agreement as tears still formed in her eyes which she tried to wipe away, but Clarabella stopped her.

"_No, let it all out, Crona,"_ she said sweetly while reaching out to stroke her descendant's face. _"We know how hard it was for you all this time, searching for the truth behind our deaths to discover the secrets lying within the museum and its' history. Don't worry, you can come and visit our graves whenever you like; we'll always welcome your company."_ Then she turned to Macarona and addressed her. _"And you as well, Macarona. Thank you for everything you've done to help her in her time of need. You've been of great service to Crona, us, and this world."_

"Ah, it was nothing much, really," Macarona blushed in embarrassment as she sheepishly scratched the back of her neck to be more modest and humble. "I just wanted to help, that's all. I originally approached this as a simple interest and nothing more, but through the process it became something more than that." She chuckled while putting her arm around Crona as the demon made sure to return the gesture. "I'm glad I was able to offer my assistance and help save our world with you all included. Thankfully everything ended well, even if not for everyone involved." With that last part said, she averted gaze to Germain's remains as Crona's mother spoke up.

"_It'll be alright; Germain will be judged fairly,"_ she said to assure them that the mage was not going to be treated harshly for only wanting to retain traditional values. _"Anyway, we must go now to join the others. It took a lot of effort sustaining our spiritual forms here, so I'm afraid we'll have to say goodbye."_ Hearing this, Crona stepped forward quickly to embrace her family in one more hug to see them off and give them a final goodbye.

"We'll see each other when I pass on at the end of my days, right?" she inquired hopefully.

"_Of course, Crona,"_ her mother replied as Clarabella spoke up next.

"_Yes, we shall come back for you then, and then the three of us shall all head to the afterlife together as a family. Just be sure to take good care of Flavio, okay? It's not his time yet either, but he'll be with us too. We, your whole family, are right beside you in spirit, and we'll always watch over you as you enjoy life in the Grey Garden. For now, we say goodbye to you and wish you both have happy lives filled with endless joy. You've got one life, after all, though with light, ships come home."_ And with that the two spirits started to dissipate into little light balls too as they flew into the night sky to rejoin the rest of their family waiting on the other side.

Crona never expected them to go so quickly since she was still hugging them as they both went away. She didn't realize she had lost her balance until her body started to lurch forward while she swung her arms a couple times to regain her balance as Macarona walked forward to catch her.

"Easy there, Crona," she joked lightheartedly while helping the demon right herself. "We don't want you accruing any more scrapes and bruises so soon after they've left."

"I'll say," Crona remarked as she and Macarona laughed happily before the sound of Robin near them caught their attention. "Oh, Robin's still here," the demon commented casually, having forgot all about the archer until the animatronic moved slightly. "We should remove her heart too."

"Indeed," Macarona nodded in agreement, "though there is someone else who must do her the honor, and I know just the angel for that."

…

"Right, understood," one of the demons from Wodahs' team said through the walkie talkie before hanging up to address his superiors. "That was one of our other agents back at the castle. It appears the animatronics have in fact disappeared right after they were brought to the courtyard."

"Yes, and we've found them," Kcalb nodded as he watched the girls converse in the glade. "Yet it appears the three of them helped save the day instead of ruin it."

"What shall we do, Brother?" Wodahs inquired while turning to look at the devil. "Should we gather up the animatronics now and bring them back to the incinerators?"

Kcalb nodded to give his approval. "Yes, but let's leave Robin for now. I believe Macarona has got something figured out for her, and I think I know what she has in mind."

"Hmm…" the Head Angel murmured in agreement. "Looks like Grora can finally receive closure over what happened back then from the only one who can give it to her."

…

**Wow, what an amazingly, touching, climatic seventh night! I built the entire story up to this point, and I'm pleased to say it was worth it. I'm very satisfied with how this chapter turned out, and I'm also glad to have finally made it through seven nights with seven days in between. **_Seven Nights at Clarabella's_** has come far, and it's finally reached the end. All that's left to do is the epilogue where I shall tease the second character I mentioned before and the bonus chapter after it. I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoy writing it.**


	15. Epilogue: Closure of the Conspiracy

For the first time in seven days and seven nights, the crisp, morning air and the sunshine it brought with it felt like a warm sensation without the hint of a foreboding genius loci somewhere within the part time job she had taken a week ago. As Macarona slept peacefully for a few moments longer in bed, her cell phone rang on the nightstand with its usual cute ring tone. It woke the angel up while she gradually sat up in bed and pushed the covers away, stretching her arms in the air and yawning before taking the phone and answering it. The sound of Xerxes' voice was welcoming to her ears now that she finished work and would be receiving that paycheck because for once there wasn't a need to discuss anything about the museum's past.

"Hey, Macarona, how are you doing?" he asked as the young angel got out of bed and went out of her bedroom and down the hall to the stairs. "It's been a whole week since I first hired you."

"Yeah," she agreed while sauntering into the kitchen to turn on the stove to prepare herself some breakfast. "I bet nobody else ever made it through an entire week with those things. I guess I'm the first night guard to survive all seven nights." She smiled at the reference to the animatronics she had to deal with for seven nights, but knew they should no longer be called that anymore. Now that the truth was out that they were all once angels and had their hearts inside, the characters were officially going to be referred to as such to give them the respect they deserved. Macarona couldn't express just how happy she was to have helped them find peace in the afterlife.

"I'll say," Xerxes laughed before getting on to the matter he wished to discuss. "But in all seriousness, I heard from Kcalb and Wodahs the animatronics helped in the fight against Germain and you all beat him. It's a shame he couldn't accept our world's present values, but I understand where he's coming from. Still, trying to harm everyone to protect traditional beliefs isn't the way to go about it; though I digress since there was actually something else I wanted to bring up."

"Which is?" Macarona inquired out of curiosity, as she began making an omelet for herself.

"The matter of your paycheck," Xerxes remarked in response. "Usually we pay part timers an equal wage as our full time employees depending on how long they worked for us. Since you've gone above and beyond with the discovery of Project Dynol Peiriant and wish to contribute this to a fundraising charity project you want to do at school, the museum would like to triple that amount as thanks for your aid. You won't be receiving it in the mail since I've already forwarded it to the school for you, and we're happy to be of further aid if you wish to hold more charity events."

"Alright, thank you," Macarona replied while heating up her breakfast. "It was a pleasure working for Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts and uncovering the conspiracy. I had quite a lot of fun even if it was treading in dangerous territory for the job."

"Good, glad to hear it," her former boss agreed over the phone. "Sorry, but I can't stay on longer. We're meeting with Kcalb and Wodahs in a little bit to discuss a plan of action on what to do regarding the hidden laboratory discovered beneath the basement, so I've got to get right on it."

"Okay," Macarona said as she and Xerxes said goodbye before hanging up. Taking a quick look at the grandfather clock out in the hallway, Macarona noted it was eleven thirteen as she got a plate out from the cabinet and placed the finished omelet onto it. She walked in the dining room and sat down at the table to eat while thinking about her meeting with Grora later that day.

…

Grey Village was quiet today because all the kids were in school while adults were at work. Macarona could feel the silence as she rode through the settlement on her bike towards Blancblack Castle to see Grora about a specific matter the older angel had to deal with. Hardly any of the other civilians were out today now that Spring Break was over, but Macarona took an extra day off from school so she could get some sleep from having dealt with Germain the previous night. Mr. Lowrie was doing a little activity that day about sharing what everybody did over their break, but she could not make it today which was why she would tell the whole class about it tomorrow. She smiled to herself as she thought about their reactions to her job and her involvement in solving a conspiracy; though the others would probably tell everyone else about it if word hadn't gotten out yet.

Macarona disembarked from her bicycle as she pulled up in front of the castle, parking the thing in a bike rack before heading in to greet several of the others who were already in the lobby.

"Thanks for taking care of my niece's wounds," Flavio bowed to show his appreciation to Kcalb, Wodahs, and Etihw for helping her. "Without you and your staff, I might have lost another family member to those animatronics." He held out his hand which the devil took and shook.

"Certainly, anytime," he remarked with a nod. "We're always willing to lend a hand when a citizen of our world is in need of it. It's a good thing this whole incident was resolved before any further damage was caused by the animatronics, particularly the mage." Turning to face Macarona, he nodded to her as well as a gesture of respect. "And I would like to thank you for your help when stopping him, Macarona. You have yet again done the Grey Garden a great service."

"Thank you," she responded while blushing somewhat, slightly embarrassed at having this attention foisted onto her, "though I can't take all the credit since the other animatronics helped as well in addition to the spirits of Clarabella and Crona's mother."

"Don't be so modest, my friend," Crona stepped over to her and placed and arm around the guardian angel. "Yes, they all helped us and I'm very grateful for their aid, especially towards my ancestors', but you were the pivotal force in hammering the last nail into Project Dynol Peiriant's coffin. I think a cause for celebration is in order for the achievement, so come by my place tonight for dinner. Mr. Kcalb and Mr. Wodahs are invited as well."

"We appreciate the offer," Wodahs commented as he and his brother bowed their heads to show their gratitude, "but we must attend to work first. Cataloguing the files and documents we've recovered from the laboratory for animatronic weaponry is going to take quite a while. We'll take a raincheck on that for now, so we'll contact you about it sometime after the final ones are finished. My brother and I have discussed this at great lengths with Lady Etihw and have decided to store it all for public disclosure which she has fully agreed to."

"Yes, it's about time this got out," Etihw remarked with a small smile as she shut her eyes and sighed in relief. "I feel like a huge weight has finally been lifted from my shoulders so I could give everyone who died in this tragedy justice. Speaking of which, Mr. Averniche's trial is already being prepared as we speak, so I must oversee the affairs of that at once when it begins. Hopefully he'll receive a lesser punishment than what his ancestor, Henrik, would've been charged with. All in all, everything turned out well in the end, even if Kcalb wasn't the one to save the day in the end, what with his 'grand' speech for Germain last night." She chuckled, hoping her little remark would garner an entertaining response from him; it usually did whenever she teased him.

But Kcalb merely closed his eyes and nodded. "True, I have not been actively involved in the direct fight, but at the very least I prevented him from attempting to burn the whole forest down when my team and I caught up to him. Though to be fair, the credit for that goes to the angel who put out the fireball he prepared. Our collective presence merely forced him into withdrawing since he wasn't at full strength in his state, so that too stopped a potential forest fire from becoming what could have been a dire threat to the village and the castle. Even if I and my brother or simply just one of us defeated him, it still wouldn't change the general outcome of this whole ordeal. Macarona was there to stop him, but like Crona said, the other animatronics and spirits fought too. That would not have happened had we destroyed Germain's animatronic. Besides, although I don't approve of him trying to destroy the Grey Garden, I still respect his conviction in the old traditions of his peers by seeking to preserve it even if the methods were radical, hence why I showed him courtesy."

Etihw pouted, annoyed her jest didn't have the desired effect she was looking for. "Fine, I suppose that's fair," she said before muttering something about him being a boring loser under her breath. Her smile returned after that and she stretched her arms in the air. "Still, at least we can all relax now that the conspiracy is over and done with for good." Unfortunately that remark just made Kcalb and Wodahs grab the back of her collar which was reinforced by her 'boring loser' comment.

"What do you mean by 'relax now'?" Kcalb inquired like a parent scolding his child for a thing she wasn't supposed to do or say. "We still have work to do."

"Correct, you guys do, but I'm going to get a bit of rest. That public apology I gave took a lot of effort to write so I could feel comfortable saying it with floundering the words."

"You are referring to the effort I put in to write it?" Wodahs took the same approach Kcalb used against her as Etihw smiled sheepishly and giggled nervously.

"W-well, y-yeah, now that you mention it…"

"Let's go, Etihw," Kcalb said as he and the Head Angel began to drag her away. "You've still got mountains of paperwork to begin and you haven't even started yet."

"T-that's w-what friends are for, r-right?" Etihw became a tad pale at the thought of all the documents and files she had to write up and sign off on. "Y-you guys will help with that, r-right?"

"Not our jobs," Wodahs replied coldly as the three of them went away towards an elevator. "We have our assignments, and you have yours, so get to it pronto."

As the elevator door opened, Etihw threw Macarona and Crona a pleading look of help as she clasped her hands together and begged them through silent gestures to be rescued from the job she was being forced to do—the job she was supposed to do instead of slacking off. Unfortunately for her, Crona merely laughed which upset the goddess as she childishly stuck her tongue out at the demon. "Sorry, Miss Etihw," Crona mocked her as a bit of revenge for Etihw doing nothing to stop Project Dynol Peiriant and not helping her mother, "but you reap what you sow."

"Please tell me you forgive her," Macarona said with narrowed eyes of exasperation which were accompanied by a brief drop of sweat after Etihw left with Kcalb and Wodahs.

"Not entirely," her friend replied with a small smile as she looked at the angel. "She might have helped protect my grandfather, but she still did nothing after Project Dynol Peiriant failed. A terrible excuse she used was that she was uncertain of its fate, though the contradiction in her logic was that she should have at least inferred something had happened when Clarabella killed herself."

Macarona sighed as she conceded the argument. "You have a point," she reluctantly agreed before regaining her composure. "Still, I'm glad you don't seem to completely hate Miss Etihw."

"Whether that goes away is something for me to determine," Crona frowned casually while she spoke. "She has helped keep my grandfather safe, so that makes her okay in my book because my mother and I wouldn't have existed had Miss Etihw not kept his presence safe from the other angels with the exception of Robin and Germain. Leonidas and Cleopatra probably learned of that while they were imprisoned in the Cyfuno Gwirodydd, but they didn't know back then. Even so, I cannot forgive the fact she did nothing to investigate my mother's death when she had the chance to, preferring instead to keep the laboratory hidden which she told me she also knew of. You recall that box you found Clarabella's recording, right?" she explained as Macarona nodded. "The initials on it were my mother's, suggesting she did figure it out even if Grandfather hadn't told her."

"I see," Macarona nodded again. "Well, it is good you've got what has been passed down to you from your family. What do you plan to do now?"

Crona closed her eyes and shrugged. "Eh, I don't really know for sure. The museum doesn't really have a need for guards anymore now that the animatronics are gone, so I'll most likely look elsewhere for another job while still helping my uncle tend the cemetery. What about you?"

"I'm still in school, so there's that," Macarona answered her and then proposed her idea to the demon. "I've thought about writing a book on the conspiracy and how we solved it while also incorporating some of the documents that were recovered from the lab along with our findings."

"Interesting..." Crona remarked with a nod of approval. "Just be sure to split the profits in the event you do plan to follow through with that. The cemetery could use some financial aid since we need to fix up some of the graves that have been ruined by time."

"Gladly!" the angel responded as Flavio stepped towards her.

"We thank you for the deal on behalf of the dead who could really use that money for their tombstones," he said while shaking her hand. "They've waited long enough, don't you think? What they need is to be remembered by their descendants who come to visit them, so I'd say recognition for that is much better than being left in the ground to rot, so to speak." That was a wise statement, one which Macarona felt was very relevant to the dead that slept beneath the soil of this world and its past—a past where much of what everyone knew was conflict between angels and demons.

"Anyway, we've got to get going," Crona commented while shaking Macarona's hand. "I have to go see my mother and Clarabella and help my uncle with his work. Take care, Macarona. You've been a great partner and a great friend to me throughout this investigation."

"Thanks, you too," the young angel responded as she said her goodbyes to Crona and her uncle before they went their separate ways.

…

How long had it been since she last saw Robin? Decades ago? She sighed somberly as she recalled that fateful day when one of the best angels she had ever known just disappeared. Though Grora had heard about what happened with the secret operation, Project Dynol Peiriant, she didn't believe the animatronic of Robin was really her old friend from the war. That Robin's heart could be found in it was just too difficult to believe, especially since Grora hadn't been keeping up with that news lately. For the past several days all she did was work quietly since she just remembered what today was: the anniversary of Robin's disappearance. Her mind was so focused on this single day that she literally blocked everything else out of her train of thought such as following orders a superior gave her and trying to kill Ater whenever she saw the cat demon. It was easy to understand how she was feeling about it, so nobody said anything about what she did wrong out of respect for the bond she wanted to ponder on while paying their condolences at the very least.

Holding a watering can in her hand, she just stared sadly at the flowers while thinking about which ones she was going to bring when she visited the grave later. A trip to the florist's had been in order that day so she could purchase some, but Grora felt she might waste too much time on the decisions she'd be second guessing whenever something didn't feel right or satisfied her. She knew Robin only deserved the best because she was an amazing scout and friend, and also because Grora wanted to try apologizing to the empty grave again for her blunders. There was a tombstone there, but no casket had been prepared for the archer since a wax replica wasn't made either; although it would have filled the space, it wouldn't have done Robin justice. Her corpse needed to be in there, not a fraud constructed and developed to fill an empty void known as the grave so those close to a person like her could visit and know they were visiting the real individual.

"You miss her, don't you?" Macarona asked with a warm smile to try and cheer Grora up.

"Am I really that easy to read?" the other angel inquired, her tone of voice sounded pretty defeated. Grora hadn't gotten much sleep since she was mulling over the death of her friend, so it wasn't hard knowing what she was thinking of, especially when she'd been thinking of it for quite a while this past week. "I'm sure everyone will just tell me to cheer up and take the time to see an empty grave. It won't do any good since she's not there."

"She will be," Macarona remarked to try and cheer her up. "Soon, very soon in fact."

"I appreciate the concern, Macarona," Grora sighed, shutting her eye while she shook the watering can to check it for more water. It was nearing the bottom now, but there was enough left for a few more flowers by the ones she finished up at. "However, what would it change? You claim she'll be there, but I know she won't. Nobody has ever found her yet, and I find it hard to believe she was used for some operation meant to benefit the angels alone. I'm pretty sure she's dead, but why bother trying to find the remains when it's most likely she'll never be found? I'm tired of this, Macarona. I don't want to feel down, but I can't help it when my mistakes have contributed to her disappearance and likely death. It's because of me she is gone forever."

"What if I told you she wanted to see you one last time before she moved on?" Macarona asked as Grora turned to look at her, a glimmer of hope shining briefly in her eye for just a moment before she tipped her head down in shame as she finished up the little bit of water left.

"What difference would it make? I cannot face her knowing she may probably be angry at me even though I'm also sure she would not get mad. I just…don't know. I don't know how she's feeling about that, about how I messed up and she sacrificed herself for my sake all because I made a stupid mistake that cost Robin her life. It's all my fault she's gone, so I ask again. What difference would it make knowing I'm solely responsible for her death and the deaths of our whole squad?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Macarona asked as she held her arm out to point Grora towards one of the trees in the center of the inner garden as the older angel looked at it before her eyes widened in surprise as the animatronic of Robin stepped out from behind it and walked over. However, Grora merely shook her head and rubbed her eye to make sure she wasn't seeing Robin as an animatronic or illusion before sighing heavily.

"So you saved this one from the incinerators just long enough to try cheering me up?" she asked somberly as Macarona placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate this, but this thing cannot replace the real Robin. It is just an animatronic recreation of her."

_"Then will this suffice as all the proof you need?"_ a sudden voice emerged from within the animatronic as it used its hands to open up a compartment to reveal a beating heart inside.

"Wha…" Grora's eye widened again, this time in shock as she leaned in to stare at it. "How is…? Is that…It can't be…It's not hers…is it?" She struggled to speak, but the words came out.

"Do you doubt the integrity of someone you've looked up to your whole life?" Macarona gave her a gentle pat on the back as a token of encouragement. "She wants you to be the one who removes it. Go on, take Robin's out and bury it within that empty grave so it can be filled at last."

Grora swallowed heavily as she slowly, carefully reached her arm up into the compartment and gently laid her fingers around the heart to remove it from the confines of the animatronic which caused it to deactivate after the thing sat itself upon the ground, making sure it didn't crush flowers. "This is…" she uttered softly as all doubt within her mind and her own heart as well began to leave so the feeling could stop tormenting her. "This really is it…It is Robin's heart…that was her voice just now…I swear it was." She took a few deep breaths as Macarona nodded in agreement.

"Right, and now you can finally speak with her after so long," she said as Robin's spiritual form materialized right in front of them to confirm that idea.

_"Indeed, Alela, it is good to see you after so long. I'm glad we could finally meet again if not under better circumstances, but all the same I wanted to help alleviate the tension and sorrow you've felt over my absence. It's quite alright since I already forgave you, so don't beat yourself up over what happened to me. That's all in the past now, so don't worry about it any longer."_

"But you died because of me!" Grora protested, tears forming in her eye while they began to pour down her face. "If I hadn't messed up that one time, you'd still be here! You'd still be alive and well as would all the others who were killed because I made a foolish blunder!"

_"They all forgive you as well, and I am still here if not in my actual body,"_ Robin assured her while embracing the upset angel in a hug to calm her nerves. _"I understand how you feel, and I agree things could've gone better, but what's important is that you're safe to carry on our legacy and live out the rest of your life in peaceful happiness."_

"I-I'm…I-I'm sorry," Grora uttered sadly as she wrapped her arms around the spirit to feel its warm embrace while the tears still flowed. "This happened because of my mistakes."

_"True, you did make some serious blunders on that scouting mission, but if anything what happened then is entirely on my head alone so I should bear the full responsibility of it."_

"But why?!" Grora protested again as she looked up at Robin through her watery eye. "You didn't do anything wrong then! You were absolutely perfect!"

_"Nobody is perfect, Alela,"_ Robin said as she gently placed a hand on Grora's cheek. _"Even I am not entirely perfect even if others say I am, but that's beside the point. I didn't return just to check up on you and see how you were doing, but to give this world a warning as well. Please, hear me out for this is my final request and the last order I shall ever give you."_

Grora nodded as she wiped the tears from her eye and broke away from Robin's embrace to salute her as a gesture of honor. "Of course, whatever is it that you wish to relate? I shall carry out this command to the fullest at my very best and strive to honor you and this order without fail."

Robin chuckled. _"That's the Alela I know. Always so loyal and professional as a soldier."_

"She is one of the very best angels in Miss Etihw's forces," Macarona agreed as she began to walk away to give these two their moment of solitude together, but Robin placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her from leaving as she spoke up again.

_"You need to hear this as well, Macarona. It is crucial the warning I have to give is heard."_

"Alright, I'll stay," Macarona nodded and stood by Grora as the spirit continued speaking.

_"Now you both may know by now that I escaped the demons under Kcalb's command, but what hasn't been revealed yet in the conspiracy is how I disappeared and why,"_ Robin began her explanation as Macarona interjected with her own theory.

"You were helping Clarabella and Miss Etihw protect Crona's grandfather, the baby demon Clarabella rescued from a demon encampment destroyed in the war. Germain had you killed since he discovered you were spying on him for them."

_"Quite right, you are correct, Macarona,"_ Robin nodded to confirm the notion's validity. _"It was the purpose of that mission, the one in which I had supposedly disappeared when he had actually trapped me with his magic before I was slain. The details of it have been hazy and absent up to now, but I can confirm the mission itself was a blunder on my part because I brought Grora and the other angels in that squad with me as backup in case things went south. It's true she made a mistake that cost us our lives, but it wouldn't have happen if I didn't bring everyone with me."_

"I forgive you captain!" Grora exclaimed with another salute. "I still would've gone too!"

Robin nodded again. _"Yes, I know you and the others would've still chosen to help me even if I had told you of the demon baby's existence. Still, I am responsible for taking you all on a path towards death which only one of you—Alela—returned from because I was supposed to spy on the mage alone without getting others involved since they too could get hurt. Thankfully I briefly went to the afterlife to go see them and they forgave me after I fully explained my motives and actions to them, but now I must get to the second matter of my disappearance."_

The two living angels nodded as they listened attentively while Robin went on. _"I escaped from the demons under Kcalb yes, but as I was trying to regroup with Alela to make sure she was alright since I had to place her life as my top priority over Project Dynol Peiriant, another demon emerged from the shadows and pursued me. That was how I got captured."_

"But you just said you managed to get away from them," Macarona remarked to understand where the archer was coming from. "How did one of his demons locate you again? I can certainly imagine the specific demon refusing to inform Mr. Kcalb of that event."

_"This one wasn't one of Kcalb's,"_ Robin clarified the point. _"The demon wore a pure white cloak and sprinted across the water's reflection. I shot arrows at this individual because I thought it was invisible save for the reflection in a wide river I was running by. None of them struck their target, but the ones I aimed at the reflection did in a way. The demon dodged them so I was able to confirm it had some kind of ability related to reflections. Unfortunately, I'd been led into an ambush where I was caught by Germain and his angels. I tried locating it again in the limited time I had, but couldn't; the demon had vanished. Both I nor Germain and his angels saw the demon, and I'm positive they never knew it was there."_

"So this demon's identity is unknown?" Grora inquired as Robin nodded in response.

_"True, this was probably the first time this demon has ever been encountered. I didn't sense its presence in this world from the afterlife, but we cannot deny the possibility that the demon could be aware of this world and the peace Lady Etihw formed with Kcalb. If this demon were to attack, I feel nobody will be aware until it's too late, hence the reason for my warning,"_ Robin made it to the end of her explanation and cast glances at the two angels before her. _"Can I count on you both to inform Lady Etihw and Kcalb of the potentially imminent threat right away?"_

"Certainly, Captain!" Grora saluted Robin to honor her final order. "I shall carry it out with posthaste immediately!" The spiritual entity smiled, grateful for her former subordinate's aid while she began to dematerialize. "Captain Robin, I shall endeavor to protect this world on your behalf! For our people and the peace we all share!" She then exclaimed as one last tear appeared. "It was an honor to serve alongside you, and to have become someone you can depend on! I'll do my best to not make any more mistakes that would jeopardize the Grey Garden!"

_"I know you will Alela, and I believe in all of you as everyone shall strive to protect what's most important to them in this lifetime: peace, unity, and bonds with one another,"_ Robin remarked as she nodded and saluted her back while Macarona joined in on the gesture. _"And now I must say goodbye, for now I must go rejoin the rest of our squad. Don't forget to bury my heart, Alela."_

"I won't," Grora smiled as she nodded. "I promise."

_"Excellent,"_ Robin said her final statement before beginning to vanish completely. _"I wish you both and this world the best of luck, and I shall always watch over you all from the afterlife."_

"Thank you…Robin," Grora responded as the archer turned into a ball of light and began her ascension into the sky while the two angels watched her go before Grora sighed in relief. She was grateful for this last chance to speak with Robin and felt a huge burden fall from her shoulders as she began to feel better. "I'll see you again someday on the other side."

"Aren't you glad you got this opportunity?" Macarona asked while Grora sighed again and nodded while starting to walk off before turning back to the younger angel.

"Yeah, I am. It felt good seeing her one more time," she said with a small smile. "Sorry for heading out so soon, but I've got to go fulfill Robin's final wishes. I must let Lady Etihw and Lord Kcalb know about this demon and then I must bury her heart. I also want to speak with them about holding off on burning this animatronic as I should be there for it. See you soon, Macarona. Take care of yourself and have a good day. Thanks for your help."

"I will, thanks," Macarona said as she waved goodbye and turned back to the animatronic and looked at it. It once held the heart of Robin, and now it was an empty relic of the operation. A failed attempt at creating human machines in Project Dynol Peiriant. With a small smile, Macarona closed her eyes briefly and turned away from it as she looked back up at the sky. A sigh of joy and relief passed through her mouth as she walked away as well, but Macarona turned back to take one final look at the animatronic. For a moment she thought it looked back for a brief moment to make eye contact with her, but it was only an illusion.

Turning back to the door, Macarona smiled as she thought about that book she decided to write. She was looking forward to it as it would relate just what happened in the conspiracy while detailing her own harrowing encounters during the job. She was the first and only night guard who survived a full week at the museum and came out of it intact—even if the final night was not within the museum itself. Although it had been a hectic week, Macarona emerged victorious and was now waiting to relate the story of her seven nights at Clarabella's.

…

** Well, that's about it for **_Seven Nights at Clarabella's_**. It's been a pleasure writing this story as a commemoration project for Five Nights at Freddy's 3, and I'm glad the story has been completed. Though I'm not done with this just yet; the bonus chapter is the last part I have to write before I can consider it fully complete. The story is done, but I want to give you all a description of the new characters I've created and introduced in this story like how the creator of the Grey Garden, Mogeko, did the same with the game and the other games of the same universe. I'm also going to do something similar to DJ Met's interview with Yosafire, Wadanohara, and Yonaka, but I will be using a different character instead of Met because I think it would be unique to use another character for my fanfiction while Met is retained in Mogeko's games. Sorry, but there isn't going to be any art or bonus PVs since this is a fanfic.**

** Now onto the second character I teased in the epilogue, the one Robin brought up as she was talking with Macarona and Grora. I'm going to leave the demon's identity secret for the time being until the story featuring this character is written. I'm not going to get to it as the next project because there are some other Grey Garden fanfics I want to write first. But I digress, so I'll get to those other stories later. The demon who pursued Robin is will be quite an interesting character in my opinion. Like Hastur, he'll be like some aspects of the Cthulhu Mythos while also feeling similar to ghouls from Tokyo Ghoul as well. I shall not include the disclaimer for the Mythos because I've not revealed the specific aspects I'm incorporating in this character, but I can put in the one for Tokyo Ghoul now and put in the other story too.**

** Moving onto those other stories I mentioned, my next major Grey Garden fanfic will be put on hold so I can get some one-shots done, so it will be a while before I get to it. One of them is going to be about Etihw, Ater, and Arbus which is the next story I'll be writing. After that I've a couple one-shots about Greif and Yosafire and another one about Macarona and Reficul. Once these are done, I'll get to work on the next chapter story which will be about a favorite character of mine from the Grey Garden. The ones including the characters I teased will be put off for a little while longer until I get to those at some point, but I will get to them.**

** Anyway, I've rambled on long enough in this epilogue. It was a touching ending for a great story like this, and I'm glad it is finished. I've had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you've had fun reading it. I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoy writing it.**

** Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Ghoul; it is owned by Sui Ishida.**


	16. Bonus Chapter

It is a room inside a coffee shop. A table is in the center of this room with a couple desks in each of the back corners by a large window showing a bustling harbor town of the Grey Garden. At this table sits an individual demon with blue hair done up in a long ponytail and wearing a pair of slim, rectangular glasses. Her attire is that of a businesswoman as she is dressed in a black suit consisting of a jacket and pants with a blue tie. She smiled while taking a sip of coffee and a quick look at her guests told her it was time to begin.

"Welcome," she held her arm out as a gesture to welcome them and show the guests around her comfortable workspace which also included a couch and a chair by a fireplace near a bookshelf. "So nice of you to join me today. My name is Cyfweliad, and I will be your interviewer. However, I am sorry to say that I shall not be interviewing you as my VIP guest whom I've invited over shall be arriving soon. She has not shown up yet, so why don't we become better acquainted with each of the new characters you've read of in this story."

Cyfweliad brought a small pamphlet out from under the table and pushed it forward as one of the guests opened it to learn more about the characters.

Crona: A demon of the cemetery who works with her uncle and at Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts. Her mother was slain by the animatronics at the museum while investigating that place for evidence of the conspiracy. Her grandfather was adopted by Clarabella during the war, a link that makes her the adopted descendant of this prestigious angel. Now a friend of Macarona.

Flavio: Crona's uncle and the caretaker of the cemetery. Since her parents have died, he's been taking care of her and has been an excellent guardian to her.

Xerxes: The curator of Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts. A friendly demon who is very sociable and helpful towards others. He takes good care of his employees and the visitors who come to see the artwork up for display at the museum.

Marcus: An angle who heads the museum's Sculptures Department. He is also good friends with Xerxes. There are three other executives, but he's the only one named in this story.

Mr. Averniche: A coldhearted angel in his senior years. The former curator of Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts. He was legally forced into retirement due to misconduct. He also hates everyone else and prefers the solitude of his library and garden. Currently his family has disowned him for his involvement in the conspiracy regarding Project Dynol Peiriant.

Robin: The Captain of a scouting squad that was investigating Germain on behalf of Etihw and Clarabella. She told none of her subordinates about the affair, and Grora was the only one who survived that mission when Robin sacrificed herself when demons under Kcalb pursued her before she was captured by Germain due to being followed by an unknown demon.

Cleopatra: An important member of a church sector for the angels during the war. She was sent to investigate the Theft of Donations, but was killed by an angel working for Germain.

Leonidas: A noble, angelic hero who died in battle to save his comrades. He was considered to be a suitable test subject for Project Dynol Peiriant, but the mage added Cleopatra and Robin to the operation as well in addition to the warrior.

Germain: A mage who believes in the traditional values of his people. He does not outright despise demons, but he also cannot allow them to exist as it goes against angels' state of nature. It has been proven he was responsible for Project Dynol Peiriant and the subsequent events involved with it. Germain tried to make an impact on the Grey Garden to preserve traditional ideals as one of the animatronics, but Macarona stopped him with the help of the other animatronics.

Henrik: Mr. Averniche's descendant and Germain's associate. Does not appear in the story aside from a couple references to him.

Crona's Mother: Died at the hands of the animatronics while searching for evidence of the operation started by Germain. She returned during the fight against him to save her daughter.

Clarabella: The founder of Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts. A crucial angel under Etihw during the war since she served as an engineer who developed animatronic weaponry. She and Etihw were blackmailed by Germain to make Project Dynol Peiriant a reality, but they helped only because they wanted to protect Crona's grandfather. After the operation's failure, Clarabella committed suicide by shooting herself with a crossbow bolt.

Hastur: An angel referenced in the story as a teaser character for another tale. It appears he knew of Germain and Project Dynol Peiriant, so he may share the same radical beliefs as the mage.

Unknown Demon: A demon who pursued Robin until Germain caught her. Exact motives are unknown at this point as is the demon's identity. Like Hastur, this demon was also a character introduced as a teaser to another story. Wears a white cloak and has reflective abilities.

Cyfweliad: A freelance demon interviewer who works in a coffee shop in the harbor town of the Grey Garden. She is a pleasant character and is also in charge of bonus chapters.

As the characters have all been read through, a bell rang over on the wall as Cyfweliad got up to answer the door. "That's my cousin, the owner of this coffee shop. She allows me to do work up here and rings whenever a client shows up for an interview. The client in this case has arrived at last, so please take a seat and enjoy the interview with her. Though I'm sure you have questions for her as well, I'd like to request that you leave those to me as I am the interviewer."

She opened the door as a younger angel in a green sailor uniform and red tights covered in a diamond pattern and white crosses entered the room. Her ivycap was of the same colors and also bore a red cross, just as there were plenty of green and red crosses on the rest of her clothes. "Hello, is this the office of Cyfweliad?" she inquired casually as her host nodded in response.

"Why yes, you must be Macarona," Cyfweliad smiled as she shook the angel's hand. "My name is Cyfweliad, and I will be interviewing you. I trust the coffee is alright."

"It is," Macarona closed her eyes and smiled back with a nod. "It's a great brew that goes well with the crisp smell of the sea. The beans for this flavor are from the Sea Kingdom, correct?" she asked as the demon nodded to confirm the validity of that fact.

"Indeed, they do. An associate of mine happens to know the local sea witch there, so that's how my cousin put in a request for coffee beans at the local trading post."

"I see, that's a good connection," Macarona complimented as Cyfweliad chuckled.

"Thank you," the demon bowed her head in appreciation on behalf of the coffee shop. "I'll wager you'd like to buy some as well, so here is a small packet for free on the house. My cousin's very welcoming towards others and is willing to provide them with some beans for a small price. There's more packets like this one downstairs available for purchase," she explained while giving the angel one such packet as a gesture of thanks for showing up.

"Thanks."

"Now, why don't we get right to business, shall we?" Cyfweliad asked as Macarona nodded while her host pulled out a pad and a pen to jot down notes with. "Now then, let's begin with your job. How was it and what were your thoughts on it as the story progressed?"

"Certainly!" Macarona said cheerfully as she took out a plastic cup of coffee she purchased a few minutes before heading up to the little office. "It was hectic at first and intensified with each passing night, but luckily I made it through a whole week of dealing with the animatronics while uncovering the conspiracy along the way while working for the museum."

"Which brings me to my next question," Cyfweliad went on while noting the answer given by Macarona. "How did the conspiracy concerning Project Dynol Peiriant and related events such as the Theft of Donations affect your work as a night guard? Did things become harder for you to deal with as a response to your investigation with Crona?"

Macarona nodded while taking a sip of her coffee. "I would say yes, actually. Each night's flow—the passing of time per night, I mean—was quite different than the last as the animatronics kept up a routine and added to it with each passing shift. Much of their activity is simplistic, though the Cyfuno Gwirodydd kept me on my toes as it controlled the animatronics and made them try to escape to wreak havoc on Grey Village and harm innocent people."

"Do you believe it was that particular entity, or the spirit of Germain as the main source of control over them?" her host posed the next inquiry. "Which one do you think was responsible?"

Macarona put a finger to her chin and closed her eyes in deep thought. "If I had to venture a guess, I'd say the Cyfuno Gwirodydd as a whole was the dominant figure over them because the mage was too busy fighting the other spirits inside it. I've heard from Crona that when such spirits unite as one, it's usually because they are in combat against one another for whatever the conflict is about. Based on that notion and the theory that the collective spirit would assume dominance, I would say it is probably more likely that the Cyfuno Gwirodydd was responsible in my opinion."

Cyfweliad nodded while jotting down the notes of Macarona's responses. "And how were the others involved in the conspiracy and your investigation affected by the mystery? Were there any negative consequences of their involvement, and did others react differently?"

"It impacted many individuals, yes," Macarona began another brief explanation. "Some of them were merely caught up by circumstances that forced them into it such as Clarabella and Miss Etihw in addition to Crona and Mr. Averniche. Mr. Averniche felt no remorse for what happened to all the night guards who died, and Miss Etihw felt guilty about her participation. For others like Mr. Kcalb and Mr. Wodahs, it was a case to determine what exactly happened and what the charges were for those responsible for it. Mr. Averniche was arrested for criminal negligence while Crona and I were pardoned for what we did to solve the mystery because of our good intentions."

"Crona was heavily involved in the whole affair," Cyfweliad remarked casually as she took a sip of her own coffee. "She was the adopted descendant of Clarabella. Do you think this part of the conspiracy affected her more than anyone else in that regard and how the conspiracy as a whole affected Crona in general?" she then inquired as Macarona put forth her answer.

"At the beginning since her mother was killed by the animatronics, but over time she was starting to get accustomed to the investigation she began and realized there was something larger hidden in the museum's past. Though Crona steeled herself for much of it, there were quite a few occasions later when she discovered just how significant the conspiracy was, especially at the end when I informed Crona of her heritage to Clarabella and when she first met her in spirit in addition to her mother. You ask me, I'd say she was destined to figure this out while I helped since she was directly connected to the conspiracy through her ancestry to Clarabella."

"And now that the conspiracy has been solved and all the loose ends have been tied up, do you think this is all over? How is everyone doing now that this is finished?" Cyfweliad started to wrap up the interview with these two questions.

"I believe so, yes," Macarona nodded with a cheerful smile. "The affair is over and finished for the time being, and the documents and files recovered from the hidden laboratory have all been catalogued by the castle staff and put up for public disclosure. Everyone who had a hand in this in some way or another is now doing better with the exception of Mr. Averniche. Miss Etihw feels a lot better now and is glad to have made amends for being forced to sign off on the operation. Miss Grora is also doing well and feels better too now that she's received closure from talking to Robin's spirit. The same goes for Crona and her uncle, Flavio, who are both still tending to the cemetery."

"Alright, we're almost done," Cyfweliad said as she put forth her final inquiry. "Here's my last question: what of the unknown demon Robin mentioned and the angel called Hastur? Do you think the Grey Garden may be in some form of danger sometime soon?"

"It depends," Macarona shrugged. "I don't know who they are aside from brief tidbits I've heard about them, so that remains to be seen. Ever since Ivlis' invasion, however, the Grey Garden is now well prepared to handle any outside threat that could threaten the peace and stability which our respective people have established. If something were to happen, we'll be ready."

"I see, that pretty much covers everything I wanted to ask you," Cyfweliad commented as she shook Macarona's hand again. "It was a pleasure having you for an interview, Macarona. Good luck with everything and have a nice day," she then said as the angel returned the gesture and stood up to leave after one final remark on her part.

"Indeed, I'm glad I was able to be of some assistance. The book I'm writing shall cover a good deal more than what I've briefly gone over in this interview. The name of the book is 'Seven Nights at Clarabella's.' It's nearly finished, so look forward to its publication," she said before she stepped out of the room and left the coffee shop after purchasing some more packets of coffee.

…

** And with this bonus chapter now wrapped up, that fully completes the story of **_Seven Nights at Clarabella's_**. As I said before, I've had a lot of fun writing this fanfic and I hope you all enjoyed it as well in addition to your inclusion in the bonus room as guests of Cyfweliad, whose name is Welsh for 'interview.' I'll be writing more Grey Garden fanfics soon, so look forward to those as well—plus the correct spelling of 'Gray' for the Grey Garden. I've only stuck with that spelling for this story since I've realized it in an earlier chapter because I just wanted to be consistent with the writing in this story even if the spelling variation was minor. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this story as I enjoyed writing it.**

** Edit: There is also another reference to Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea here in the bonus chapter, and the character Cyfweliad is referring to is Ver Million.**


End file.
